SURVIVAL
LAND AND
Not for Sale
SEA
Prepared for
The United States Navy
by the
Ethnogeographic Board } \\ 1 \ - C
and the Staff of
The Smithsonian Institution
with contributions by the Bureau of Aeronautics
and Bureau of Medicine and Surgery^ . -
United States Navy
Publications Branch
Office of Naval Intelligence • United States Navy
1944
CH/MA
MARIANA JS,
PU/L/PP/NE /$.
'MINDANAO
NALMAHtfM I
OUTLINE MAP OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
CONTENTS
Sections Page
I Introduction 1
II “Men Against the Sea” 3
Abandoning ship 3
Procedure in rescue craft 6
Exposure at sea 7
Drinking water at sea 9
Food at sea 10
Fishing 10
Making your own fishing kit 11
Making fish line 12
Making a grapple hook 12
Making fishhooks 13
Sharks „ 17
Navigation without instruments 17
Wind and currents __ 18
Direction at sea 20
The sun . 20
Stars .... 22
Planets .. 22
Constellations. 23
Belt of Orion 24
The Dipper 25
Polaris— The North Star 25
Southern Cross. 28
Orientation ... 30
£
IX CONTENTS
Sections Page
III Landfall and Island Survival 31
Protection from the sun 32
Quenching thirst 32
The coconut 36
Island sea food 40
Hints on spearing and preparing fish.. 47
Fish with poisonous flesh 48
Fish with venomous or poisonous spines. 49
Handling dangerous fish_„ 52
IV Natives . 53
V Tropical Forests 58
Water. 59
Getting out of the woods 61
Firemaking 65
Forest dangers 71
Snakes and crocodiles 75
Bloodworms _ 77
VI Food in the Tropics ... 79
Animals, birds, etc 79
Food plants 83
Plants along seashores 84
Clearings and abandoned fields 93
Open grassland, thin woods, and
thickets.... ... 105
River and stream margins 105
Swamps 108
Forests and jungles 112
Particular regions 116
Poisonous plants 119
Polluted plant foods ... 130
CONTENT, S
III
Sections Page
VII The Arctic. _____________ 132
Signal fire 133
Emergency firemaking. 136
Shelter. 138
Carbon monoxide poisoning 139
Cooking .... _ 140
Water 141
Food 141
On the seashore 142
Fish 144
Land animals 145
Sea animals 147
Birds.. 148
Plant Foods 149
Greens. 155
Boots. 157
Edible fungi and lichens .... 164
Arctic ailments. 164
VIII The Deserts. 169
Water. . 170
Food___ ______ 171
Dust 172
Clothes 172
How to travel, 173
Signals 173
Desert ailments ; 174
IX The United States _ _ _ _ _ 175
SURVIVAL O'N LAND AND SEA
l
INTRODUCTION
Since this war began thousands of men whose ships have
been sunk or whose planes have come down in uncivilized areas
of the world have made their way back to friendly territory.
This booklet, which was written by men who have actually
lived in jungles, deserts, and in arctic regions, tells the main
things that a man should know about living in wild countries.
Read this book. It may save your life. Keep it in your pocket
when you are in a part of the world where you may need it.
With it you may be able to help not only yourself but whoever
may be with you.
The greatest obstacle that will confront you in the wilderness
or at sea is fear of the unknown. As you meet and solve each
problem you will find that it was not half so bad as you thought
it was going to be and that after all you are doing pretty well.
Just remember that many men, and women too, have already
undergone such experiences and have come through. What they
did, you too can do.
First stop and think things over. Size up the situation arid
plan your course of action. If you are adrift at sea you cannot
hurry and there should be the emergency kit and set of instruc-
1
2
SURVIVAL* ON LAND AND SEA
tions in the boat or raft to help yon. On land, however, there
will be the temptation to rush off immediately in some direction,
any direction, and attempt everything at once, thus using up
valuable energy and adding to your own confusion. If you are
cast ashore on a beach— actually the best place to be — the
problem, perhaps, will not seem so pressing as when you are
lost in the interior, especially if it is bush or jungle country
where it is difficult to see very far. On the other hand, if you
are stranded on the desert, the fact that you can see so far and
so little may make you want to start out at once in an effort
to cover as much ground as possible in a short time. Regardless
of the nature of the location in which you find yourself, take
time to consider your plight and the best ways to go about im-
proving it. In the following pages are numerous hints and
suggestions on how to accomplish this.
II
“MEN AGAINST THE SEA”
Survival at sea depends on three things, knowledge, equip-
ment, and drill. With luck you may get along without one or
the other of these, but the going will he tougher and the chances
of telling your grandchildren about it not so good. The time to
know all about emergency equipment — where it is and how to use
it — is before you have to abandon ship, not after. Think as
well as act while you go through “Abandon Ship” drill. Should
the real thing come your chances will be 100 percent better !
ABANDONING SHIP
The most important factor in survival at sea is being pre-
pared when the order to abandon ship comes, or if all communi-
cations have been broken down, when your judgment tells you
you must leave. To be prepared, first, always have a sheath
knife on a lanyard in your belt, a police whistle around your
neck, and a light pair of leather gloves in your hip pocket.
Second, have a small knapsack or kit bag, with shoulder straps,
prepared so that you can take it to your battle station. This
should contain a filled canteen, a flashlight with a transparent
rubber sheath tied over it (you can buy such a rubber sheath in
a drug store in the States), a blanket, sweater, sbirt, and socks
fthe latter also in a waterproof wrapper), first-aid packet, and
3
4
SURVIVAL, ON LAND AND SEA
dark glasses. If you get away with the first of these items on
your person, it may save your life. If you have your emergency
kit bag it may save other lives as well. Experience in the Pacific
has indicated the desirability of men wearing their shoes when
they abandon ship. Shoes are a great disadvantage when swim-
ming without life jackets but their lack is painfully felt once
you are ashore in a wilderness. This is also true if you are
rescued by a naval vessel in a tropical area. The deck plates be-
come so heated by the sun’s rays that a man cannot walk on
them with bare feet.
In abandoning ship wait until the ship comes to a stop; try
to get away in a lifeboat, and jump only when it is impossible to
go down a hose, line, cargo net, or ladder. Remember to put on
your gloves and go down hand-over-hand. Don’t slide and burn
your hands ! You’ll need them later. If it is necessary to jump
get rid of your helmet, fold your arms tight across your life
jacket, and, selecting a clear area below, jump with legs ex-
tended and feet together.
If you have a cork life jacket, throw it over first and jump
after it. Don’t wear it when you jump or it may knock you out.
If you have a pneumatic rubber jacket and are a good swimmer,
jump in before you inflate it and swim as far away from the ship
as seems safe before you do. If you are wearing a kapok life
jacket, be sure the lower drawstring is drawn tight and tied
securely before you jump.
If you have to go overboard without lowering a boat or raft
(in anything but a fiat calm) go over the weather or windward
side. The reason for not going over the lee side is that any
wind will drive a drifting ship down on you. Take care not to
be washed back aboard if a sea is running. To avoid this leave
MEN AGAINST THE SEA
5
the ship by the bow or stern, whichever is lower in the water.
If the propellers are still turning, leave by the how. Swim hard
to get away from the ship and around the how or stern. When
beyond concentrated oil or other dangers, relax and swim or
paddle slowly toward the nearest floating object or mass of
survivors. It is well to figure out where you want to go in a
general way before you go into the water because you can see
much more from the deck than you can when you are swimming.
If fuel oil has been discharged, avoid it as much as you can by
keeping head and eyes high and your mouth closed. Swallow-
ing oil will make you sick and if it gets in your eyes will
inflame them for a few days. However, serious effects have
seldom resulted from contact with oil in the sea. Wounds which
have come in contact with fuel oil have shown no delay in
healing.
Should you have* to jump from the ship into burning oil, you
may, if you are a good swimmer, avoid being burned by the
following procedure. It has been tested and proved successful.
Jump feet first through the flames. Swim as long as you can
under water, then spring above the flames and breathe, taking
a breast stroke to push the flames away; then sink and swim
under the water again. Men have been able to get through
200 yards of burning oil in this way. To do it, however, you
will have to remove your life belt and other cumbersome clothing.
Obviously a seagoing man should take every opportunity to
learn to swim . However, not losing your head is apt to be as
important as knowing how to swim. Your life jacket will float
you and all your clothes. Many men have been drowned through
losing their heads and thrashing about in the water. Do not
exhaust your strength by shouting or swimming about uselessly.
8
SURVIVAL, OH LAND AND SEA
Swim or paddle slowly toward a lifeboat, raft, or any floating
object that will support you. The danger of injury from under -
water explosion is lessened by swimming or floating on your
back. When you reach a raft, if depth bombing is going on,
sit or stand up on it ; do not lie prone upon it.
PROCEDURE IN RESCUE CRAFT
Half the battle is won when you get safely aboard your rescue
craft, whether it be a raft or lifeboat. Despite lurid newspaper
accounts of exceptional cases, actual statistics show that of
boats adrift for more than 24 hours nearly half have reached
safety within 5 days. It is the exception for any lifeboat not
to be picked up within 3 weeks. If you have foresight, knowl-
edge, and initiative your chances are excellent. From now on,
the way you act will affect not only your own physical com-
fort and chances of survival but those of your companions as
well.
Do not exhaust yourself by getting excited. Do not sing or
shout for it uses up strength and valuable moisture. If a mass
of men are around a raft, hang on but don't try to climb on it.
Help get the wounded on. No matter how close-packed or un-
comfortable you m'ay be, do your best to be cheerful and, if you
can’t, be quiet. Make the best of it, for your survival depends
on everyone carrying out routine cheerfully and promptly. It
is highly important that everyone aboard a boat or raft should
be allocated some job, however small. Only the badly wounded
or very exhausted should he excused. Watches should be set
on a definite routine.
MEN AGAINST THE SEA
7
Exposure at Sea
As soon as possible, if you are in. a raft or boat, squeeze out
all your wet clothing but do not take off all your clothes unless
the weather is warm and dry, and the wind moderate. Undress
and dry your clothes layer by layer. Pay special attention to
your feet. If you have on boots and socks remove and dry
them. If possible, put on dry socks. Carrying a pair of dry
socks in waterproof wrappings while at sea would here yield
big dividends. Your feet should be kept dry and covered if
possible. If your rescue craft is wet, keep your shoes on, but if
you notice your feet swelling remove your shoes.
To protect yourself against cold winds, rain, spray, or, in the
tropics, the sun, put up canvas or other screens, or rig up an
awning with whatever is available. Do not take off too many
clothes. They protect you against sunburn, which may occur
even in cloudy weather. The experiences of men who have
lived for weeks on rafts, to be rescued eventually, indicates that,
for the tropics, systematically building up a resistance to sun-
shine in advance of any emergency will lessen the hardships
of exposure. Learning how to swim is a good way to do this
and, as previously mentioned, is also a good form of life insur-
ance. An all-over coat of tan is a great help, but clothing is
essential against glare of the sun by day and cold by night.
You can protect your eyes against the glare of the sun on the
water by improvising some kind of eye shade or goggles with
slits. A cloth tied over your nose will hide the horizon when
you look straight forward, and this cuts off some of the glare.
Wearing a shirt or vest, and some form of head gear, oc-
casionally soaked in sea water, will help against the sum
8
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
Sitting for long periods with wet feet tends to result in pain
or numbness of the feet, followed by swelling and later by the
formation of blisters or ulcers (“immersion foot”). To prevent
this the following precautions have been found helpful: (1)
Keep the craft bailed out and as dry as possible. (2) Keep
your feet as dry as you can. (3) Loosen your shoe laces,
remove garters, and avoid all constriction of clothing which
would interfere in any way with circulation of blood from the
legs. (4) Exercise your toes, move frequently, place the feet
for a time at the level of the hips, lie on your back and hold
your feet in the air for a few minutes at a time. If your feet
and legs become numb and swollen, do not apply massage or
heat but keep them elevated and as dry as possible. Remove
your shoes if the swelling is at all severe.
As a result of the very limited ration of food and water,
your stools will tend to become hard and dry and the urine
scanty and concentrated. Though every encouragement should
be given the bowels to move, constipation is to be expected.
The experience of most shipwreck survivors is that few diffi-
culties result from it later on. As the urine becomes more
concentrated it may tend to burn as if is passed. It may be
found wise under these circumstances to empty the bladder only
once or twice a day as the burning will probably last no longer
after passing a large quantity of urine than after passing a
small quantity.
Remember that alcohol has no thirst-quenching value and is
dangerous to drink under these circumstances. Heavy smokers
find tobacco soothing, particularly during the long night
watches, but it has no other virtue and increases thirst.
MEN AGAINST THE SEA
Drinking Water at Sea
Drinkable water will be your most essential need. If your
emergency craft is equipped with a still or chemical apparatus
for removing salt from sea water, learn in advance how to as-
semble and operate it. There will probably be some water in
the craft, and you should rig gear to catch rain water. Use the
sea anchor, boat or sail cover, or any piece of canvas. Try to
estimate how long you may be adrift apd ration your water
accordingly. A man needs about a pint a day to keep fit, but
he can survive on two to eight ounces. A man in good health
can live from 8 to 12 days without water. Water will go farther
if you hold it in your mouth a long time — rinse, gargle, and
swallow. If you have no water, do not eat, since digestion uses
up body moisture.
Preserving the water already in the body is almost as impor-
tant as having water to drink. To avoid excessive perspiration,
refrain from unnecessary exertion. If it is warm, remove (but
do not discard) all clothing except headgear, shirt, trousers, and
socks, which are necessary to prevent sunburn. Rig an awning
which will protect you from the sun but which will not interrupt
any breeze. Keep your clothing wet with sea water, so that the
evaporation will cool the body, but discontinue this if you feel
chilly. Rinse clothing in the sea at least once a day to prevent
accumulation of salt. Dry it in the late afternoon to prevent
over-cooling at night. In cool weather keep your clothing dry.
In the Arctic and Antarctic, pools of water from ice melted
in the sun and ice on floes over a year old are drinkable if not
made brackish by salt water spray. (For more details on this,
see section on water in The Arctic.) Your water ration should
10
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
be based on careful estimates of your chances of being picked up
and the probability of catching rain water.
Do not drink sea water. It will increase your thirst and
make you violently sick. However, you can obtain some relief
by moistening the lips and rinsing out the mouth with sea
w’ater, also by soaking sea biscuits in small quantities of it.
But remember that sea water taken into the body in any fashion
in larger quantities is very dangerous. Do not drink urine. It
contains poisonous \^aste products that will greatly increase
your thirst.
Food at Sea
Food is not as important as water. A man with water can
survive several weeks without food. However, the more food
you have, the better are your chances. So check up on your
emergency rations in advance and learn how best to divide
and use them. Issue food and water at regular intervals. If
you don’t have a watch to gauge the time, issue the rations at
sunrise, noon, and sunset. A strict watch should be kept over
food and water at all times. A trustworthy man should be
delegated to take charge of the preservation and rationing of
food and water.
FISHING
If fish can be caught they will provide you with both food
and water. Be sure your can of fishing gear is in the raft.
It has full instructions, but some of these will bear repetition.
If you can catch fish, you will not die of hunger or thirst.
The flesh of fish caught in the open sea is good to eat, cooked
or raw. It is healthy and nourishing. Many tribes and some
nations commonly eat fish raw and like it.
MEN AGAINST THE SEA
11
If and when yon have caught more fish than yon can eat,
chew out the juice from the flesh. To do this, put a piece of
fish in your mouth. Chew it small. Suck out the juice and
swallow it, and then spit out the pulp that is left. Keep it up
as long as you are thirsty and have fish.
Fish juice tastes much like the juice of raw oysters or
clams. It has been tested and found safe. A suggested method
for squeezing out juice is to take a piece of the flesh without
bones or skin. Cut it up fine. Wrap it in some kind of cloth,
leaving long ends, and let two men twist the ends hard. Some
juice will drip out. This has been tried with varying success
under different conditions and is not wholly dependable, but
since you will have plenty of time it will do no harm to
experiment.
MAKING YOUR OWN FISHING KIT
In case you find that your lifeboat or raft does not have a
fishing kit or if by chance you lose it through accident, you
probably will be able to fashion equipment that will be service-
able out of materials that you have at hand. Have everyone
empty his pockets and contribute whatever he may have in
the way of stickpins, safety pins, campaign bars, collar and
other insignia to a pool where it may be inspected for useful
articles. Include moisture-proof tobacco pouches, cigarette
lighters, nail files, bobby-pins, etc. Anything that may not be
of immediate use should be returned to the owners, subject
to future call should the need arise.
12
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
Making Fish, Line
Take a square of canvas and cut carefully with a sharp knife
along the weave of the fabric so that strands about a yard long
can be drawn. When 8 or 10 have been obtained, fasten them at
one end or have someone hold them. Then, taking an equal
number of strands in each hand, grasp them between the thumb
and forefinger of each hand and roll or twist each strand clock-
wise, at the same time passing those held in the right hand
counterclockwise around those held in the left. It is important
that each strand be twisted tightly and the two wound firmly to-
gether, so that the completed line will not unravel. This will
form a small line with a breaking point well over 100 pounds.
When about 18 inches of line have been made, cut off the strands
at intervals of about 2 inches so that each will be progressively
longer. This will facilitate splicing. About an inch before the
ends of the strand are reached, while twisting the line, feed in
a new strand to take the place of the one just ended. Continue
the operation until 50 or more feet of line have been made. This
line is good for heavy work with grapple hooks, but one of two
or four strands is better for use as a general fishline on small
hooks. The small line will have a breaking point of about 20
pounds. Unraveled rope or the ravelings from a trouser leg
may be used if you have no canvas.
Making a Grapple Hook
With a strong knife or other tool, split off four heavy
splinters B" or more long from the benches, or portions of
your raft, care being taken not to weaken any one seat too much,
MEN AGAINST THE SEA
IS
as they act as braces or struts between the beams or gunwales,
or try to salvage a piece of floating wood for the purpose. Take
the heaviest piece and cut three notches near its end. These
notches are to seat the three remaining pieces. These should
be lashed firmly in position forming an angle of about 45 de-
grees with the long line of the shaft. (Fig. 1, upper left.) The
completed line can be fastened tightly to the shaft by cutting
three or four notches near the end of the shaft and lashing
the line to it with threads from the canvas. The grapple thus
made is then ready for use and may be cast astern. The line,
of course, should be held firmly or be made fast to the boat
or raft. After you have rowed or drifted some distance pull
in the grapple. You may find that all you have caught is a
clump of seaweed. If so, don’t be disappointed. Carefully
lift the seaweed into the boat or onto the raft and shake it.
Usually small fish and crabs will fall out. They may be
eaten and will also make good bait. Even the thick, fleshy
weeds floating in the sea may be chewed and some moisture
and nourishment obtained from them. Whether you have to
fashion your own fishing kit or have one, don’t overlook the
possibilities of seaweed and the small forms of sea life that
can be obtained from it.
Making Fishhooks
Very efficient fishhooks can be made from wood, preferably
hardwood. First shape the shaft and cut a notch near the
end in which to seat the point. Shape the point and sharpen
it so that the hardest part of the grain will form the extreme
tip as well as the barb. Seat the point in the notch on the
570603° — 44
■2
14
SURVIVAL, ON LAND AND SEA
shaft. This section should form an angle of about 30 degrees
with the long axis of the shaft and should be firmly lashed
in position, using single strands from the canvas, to prevent
slipping. A good point also can be made by using a nail from’
the rubber heel of your shoe. Drive it through the shaft at the
desired angle, and lash to prevent splitting of the wood. As in
the case of the heavy line on the grapple, make the smaller line
fast to the end of the shaft of the hook with single ravelings for
binding. Very efficient substitutes for the barbed or bearded
fishhooks may be made of wood by using a latch barb. (Fig. 1,
lower left and right. ) Excellent hooks may be fashioned
from pins of all kinds. A safety pin may be used, or a bobby pin
may be hammered to a flat point and cut diagonally using a
knife blade as a cold chisel, and then shaped into a hook. A pin
from a campaign bar, marksman bar, collar insignia, or other
military insignia may be used. A pocket knife concealed with a
split fish may boat a large sea bass. In making a hook from a
knife be sure to block the blade about a quarter open with a
small piece of wood (Fig. 1, upper right), lashing both firmly
in place so the blade won’t open fully when the fish takes it.
Lures are often more successful than live bait and should
be tried frequently. If gamefish are in the neighborhood they
will take lures without hesitation. Lures can be made from
clothing or such trinkets as are at hand. (Fig. 1, lower
center. )
When a fish having strong spines in the vertical fins has been
taken these spines should be saved as very good hooks; use-
ful needles, and excellent gigs can also be made with them.
By cutting away the muscles at the base of the fin and slipping
the spine backward it can be detached from the base of the
men- against the sea
15
Figur® 1.— “Fish books and lures.
16
SURVIVAL, OK LAKD AKI) SEA
fin ray thus leaving a perfect “eye” for the accommodation of
thread.
A light at night will often attract fish. Flying fish are edible
and may be netted. If a piece of cloth is held over the boat
and light is thrown on it flying fish often jump toward it and
will land in the boat. Shark flesh may be eaten, although it may
taste somewhat oily. It is safe to eat flesh of fish and of birds
which has a phosphorescent glow. Extra fish can be cleaned and
dried so they will last several days. If large, cut them into
small thin strips, wash with salt water and hang up the strips
to dry. Some kinds of fish are poisonous or venomous. For
information on them see the discussion of fishing under “Is-
land Survival.”
All birds are good to eat. There are numerous cases of men
in lifeboats and on rafts catching birds, so if any come near
make every effort to catch them. Some kinds can be caught
on a b'aited hook and line. Their blood is both nourishing and
thirst quenching. The intestines make good bait, and bird skins
and feathers may be used for improvised hats or garments.
Turtles are also good to eat and their blood is suitable for
drinking. Eels are edible, but certain types resemble sea snakes
which are found in the tropical parts of the Pacific and Indian
Oceans. Sea snakes do not attack swimmers but are poisonous,
and should be left alone. Their flesh is edible but you might
be bitten trying to land one. They are easily distinguished
from eels because they have bony plates or scales covering
their heads and bodies and have compressed flattened tails,
while eels do not. In swimming, eels glide easily through the
water, while sea snakes tend to wriggle as snakes do on land.
Most sea snakes, however, stay close to the coast in shallow
MEN AGAINST THE SEA
17
waters, especially near river mouths, and are not likely to be
found far from land.
SHARKS
Several species of shark have been known to attack a swim-
ming man. Your chances of encountering one of these are not
great. Care, however, should be taken to avoid unnecessary
risks such as trailing hands or feet from the side of a boat
or raft, or going into the water when sharks are near. Sharks
sometimes rub against lifeboats or rafts. This is done to
scratch off sea lice rather than as an attempt to overturn the
boat. The nose is their most sensitive spot and a blow here
may drive them away. Kicking, slapping the water, and shout-
ing may also have the same effect. Shark repellents should be
used if available. Shark yarns are usually exaggerated, but
there are enough authentic records of shark attacks to justify
all precautions. Whales are practically never dangerous to
men. If their proximity becomes uncomfortable two pieces of
metal struck together under water may drive them away.
Splashing or beating on the surface of the water, however, is
likely to attract them.
NAVIGATION WITHOUT INSTRUMENTS
Navigation in a rubber life raft is of necessity most elemen-
tary. As a survival factor its role is generally a minor one.
Fine distinctions as to courses, bearings, speeds, etc., have little
value due to the extremely limited maneuverability of a raft.
However, a general knowledge as to one’s approximate where-
abouts is surely a matter of interest in any case and under
18
SURVIVAL GN LAND AND SEA
certain circumstances can be of tremendous importance to sur-
vivors.
Prior to abandoning surface ships, a slip giving course and
distance to the nearest land is supplied to each boat officer.
In case of a plane crash or forced landing, occupants of each
raft (if there is more than one) should be given the same in-
formation-—if only in approximate terms. This is the respon-
sibility of the navigator, first or second pilot, or of whoever
may have the information.
Wind and Currents
For the greatest part, the movement of a raft will be governed
by prevailing winds and currents. These, of course, cannot be
altered by survivors. However, they sometimes can be intelli-
gently utilized if the survivor knows the direction he desires
to go.
Wind and current do not necessarily move in the same direc-
tion in a given area. One may be favorable, the other unfavor-
able.
The lower the raft rides in the water and the lower its oc-
cupants remain, the greater will be the effect of current. This
effect can be increased by the use of a sea anchor or drag if the
current is setting toward land or toward an area in which your
patrols are operating.
On the other hand, if the wind should be favorable, the raft
should be lightened as much as practical. Survivors should sit
erect to offer wind resistance. Any sort of makeshift sail would
be of help.
MEN against the sea
19
To use wind or current advantageously, two things are re-
quired :
(a) Knowledge of the direction you wish to go.
(b) Knowledge of the direction of wind and current.
Certain types of life rafts are now being equipped with charts
printed on water-resistant paper. They show the direction of
prevailing winds and currents at different periods of the year as
well as land and water areas. To use them it will be necessary
to have a general idea of your position at the time you hit the
water. In the case of aircraft, as has been said, it is the respon-
sibility of the officers to give out this information in the event
of a forced landing. But just in case they might be unlucky
in the landing it is a good idea to carry a rough — necessarily
very rough — log of over-water flights in your mind, whatever
your duty in a plane crew may be.
For example, suppose you were en route from Pearl Harbor
to San Francisco. If your departure time was 1500 one day and
you expected to reach the mainland about 1000 the next, but
were forced down about daybreak, which would be the best way
to head? You should be closer to the mainland, and even
if there were no one to tell you exactly where you were, it
would be easy to figure that your best bet would be to work over
toward the east wdiere there would be plenty of land.
The wind and current map may not have reached your outfit
on the date you need it most. Or the plane captain may have
it stuck in his bunk instead of the raft you find yourself in.
Therefore, form the habit of studying maps and charts of the
area in which you are operating. Get a general picture in your
mind of the locations of lands and islands in the vicinity. We
hope the information will never come in handy, but it might.
20
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
Direction at Sea
Now, suppose you are alone in a life raft. You have studied
maps every chance you have had. You have a fair idea of
the position where you crashed. You know there is a lot of
land over to the west— -none to the north, south, or east. There
is a fair breeze blowing. Do you want to spread your parachute
to make a sail, or don’t you?
It all depends, of course, on which way the wind is blowing.
The ocean looks just the same in all directions, and it isn’t
labeled north, south, east, and west.
This is where it is handy to have a little knowledge about the
stars, sun, and moon — not a lot of technical knowledge which
requires bubble octants, etc., but some simple landmarks in the
heavens like those the ancient Polynesians used in sailing all
around the South Pacific in their dug-out, outrigger canoes,
centuries ago.
The Sun
We all know that the sun rises in the east and sets in the
west, and that, therefore, it travels from east to west. If you
are north of latitude 23° 27' N. the sun will invariably pass to
the south of you on its daily trip across the sky.
Latitude 23° 27' N. is an imaginary line passing approximately
through the Marcus Islands, Formosa, the tip of Lower Califor-
nia, along the northern shore of Cuba, and through the north
X>art of the Arabian Sea. ( See fig. 2. )
The sun follows the upper path at about the 21st of June each
year before starting slowly south.
MEN AGAINST THE SEA
21
If you are south of latitude 23°27' S. the sun will always
pass to the north of you on its daily trip from east to west.
Lat. 28°27' S. passes roughly through Noumea, Hio de Janeiro,
and the southern part of Madagascar. This line is shown as the
SUN IS SOUTH
SUN’S PATH
ON JUNE 21 ST-
SUN’S PATH
ON
DECEMBER 21 ST*
FROM HERE
Figure 2. — Sun’s path around earth.
lower one in figure 2 and marks the path of the sun on about
December 21 of each year 'before starting slowly north again.
About March 21 and September 21 of each year the sun travels
across the sky directly along the Equator. If you should be a
few miles north of New Guinea or in the center of the Macassar
'22
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
Strait, or around the northern Galapagos Islands on those dates
the sun would pass directly overhead.
Stars
The stars also move across the sky from east to west. Their
position relative to one another remains fixed. This is a con-
venience in locating them, once you learn the relationship of
stars and groups of stars to one another. Upon locating one or
more stars or constellations in the sky you can use them as
markers or landmarks, telling you where to look for others
whose direction from the first you know.
You won’t find the same stars in the same part of the heavens
every night. This is because the sun, which is responsible for
our days and nights, moves westward around the earth at a
slightly greater speed than do the stars.
Consequently stars which may be just appearing over the
horizon at midnight, one month, may be high in the heavens at
midnight another month. Or they may not appear at all. The
latter happens when they travel across the sky within a few
hours of the sun, which, of course, would be during daylight.
For the stars travel across the sky in daylight just as they do at
night. During the day the sky is so light that the stars cannot
be seen.
Planets
Planets such as Mars, Jupiter, and Yenus closely resemble
stars — except that they do not twinkle as do stars, or change
their apparent brightness. Planets are known as wanderers,
since they move about among the stars. Because of their vagrant
habits they are not much help to the survivor in determining
MEN AGAINST THE SEA
23
directions. But it is well to know that some bright “star” is
probably a wandering planet, and not a sign that you are seeing
things.
Constellations
Groups of stars are known as constellations. Some of the
most prominent and easily identifiable constellations, and single
stars, are described in the following pages. Tonight would be
as good a night as any to get outside and begin training yourself
I Belt of
« Orion
I
||l
☆ j
S.
Figure 3.- — Belt of Orion.
24
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
to recognize them as easily as yon do familiar buildings, streets,
and parks of your home town.
Belt of Orion
The constellation of Orion consists of seven stars. The three
close together (see fig. 3) are the brightest and most distinctive.
If you hold this page above you and look up at it you will see
Orion as it would appear when directly overhead or in the
heavens to the south of you. Now turn the page around until
the top is toward your chin. You will then see Orion as it
would appear if you faced the north to view it.
Orion, whenever it can be seen, rises above a point on the hori-
zon due east of you. It will set due west of you wherever you
may be.
It will pass directly overhead if you are on the Equator. It
will pass north of the point directly overhead if you are in
south latitude and south of you if you are in north latitude.
Rising in
the East
☆
&
( MAHON 9NI9VJ )
MAHON 30(3
Setting in
the West
☆
☆
☆
18V3 3HA
Ml 8N»$ty
Che South
C Facing South }
FiGUBE 4.— Positions of Orion.
J.S3M 3MJL
m ©NI1X3S
MEN AGAINST THE SEA
25
If you could face south and watch Orion’s Belt climb up from
the eastern horizon, reach its highest point, and drop down to-
ward the western horizon, it would occupy the positions shown
in figure 4. (Face south and hold this overhead to read.)
Now turn the page upside down.
Held above your head this way the figure shows the way
Orion would move across the sky if you faced north to see it.
The Dipper
The Dipper is a distinctive constellation containing seven stars.
If you are in northern latitudes it will be the most important
constellation in the heaven for you to identify.
The reason for its name is clearly shown in figure 5. The two
stars indicated are called pointers. In a moment we shall see
their use.
Polaris— The North Star
As the Dipper is the most important constellation in northern
latitudes, Polaris is the most important star. Since it is almost
directly over the North Pole it can for practical purposes be
considered to be due north of you wherever you may be. It can
also help you to estimate your latitude as we shall explain in a
moment.
The unfortunate thing about Polaris is that it is not very
bright and is sometimes hard to locate if the sky is hazy. With-
out the Dipper it would be very hard to find. But the two
“pointers” of the Dipper, whatever its position, invariably
“point” to Polaris.
28
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
As shown in figure 5, the Dipper moves slowly around Po-
laris— occupying in turn the positions shown.
Hold the page above you — and face north to view it. That
should give you an idea of the way the Dipper and Polaris will
appear.
Figure 5. — North Star and Dipper, showing “pointers.”
ME N AGAINST THE SEA
27
Now that you know how to locate Polaris — if you are north
of the Equator (if you are south of the Equator you won’t
be able to see it) — remember this rule. The number of degrees
Polaris is above your horizon will always be nearly equal to
your latitude.
This means, if Polaris is 30° above the horizon, you are in
latitude 30° N. ; if it is 50° above the horizon you are in 50° N. ;
if it is 90° above your horizon you are at the North Pole and
that is no place to be in a rubber boat !
Figure 6 is a diagrammatic sketch of what has just been
described.
LATITUDE
4S Mo
Directly
Overhead
i
^ Polaris
*
/
/
/
/
\ /
/
To estimate the angular distance of Polaris above the horizon
you must first estimate the point in the heavens which is exactly
28
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
overhead. From the horizon to that point is 90°. Halfway
from the horizon to the zenith (the point overhead) would be
45°, one-sixth (or one-third of half-way) would he 15°, and
so on.
Of course, 1 degree of latitude is 60 miles, so if you are 10
degrees off in estimating the altitude of Polaris you will be 600
miles off in your estimate of latitude. If you ever have to use
this, measure the star’s altitude as exactly as you can — and then
don’t place too much confidence in the accuracy of your estimate.
Southern Cross
In the Southern Hemisphere Polaris is not visible. There the
Southern Cross is the most distinctive constellation. As you
☆
Figure 7. — Southern Cross.
MEN AGAINST THE SEA
29
fiy south the Southern Gross appears shortly before Polaris
drops from sight astern. An imaginary line through the long
axis of the Southern Cross or True Cross points toward the
South Pole. ( See fig. 7. ) The True Cross should not be confused
with a larger i^ross nearby known as the False Cross, The lat-
ter, though the stars are more widely spaced, is less bright. It
has a star in the center, making five stars in all, while the True
Cross has only four. Two of these are two of the brightest
stars in the heavens. These are the stars on the southern and
eastern arms. Those on the northern and western arms, while
bright, are smaller.
There is no star above the South Pole to correspond to Polaris
above the North Pole. In fact the point where such a star
would be, if one existed, lies in a region devoid of stars. This
point is so dark in comparison with the rest of the sky that it
is known as the Coal Sack.
Figure 7 shows not only the True Cross but to the west
of it the False Cross. Note, just to the east of the True
Cross (hold the page above your head to make it realistic)
two very bright stars. By using them and the True Cross
as guides you can pretty accurately locate the spot within
the “Coal Sack” which is exactly above the South Pole.
First extend an imaginary line along the long axis of the
Cross to the south. Join the two bright stars to the east
of the Cross with an imaginary line. Bisect this line with
one at right angles. Where this east line intersects the one
through the Cross is (approximately) the point above the
South Pole.
570603°— 44
3
30
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
This point can be used to estimate latitude in the same
manner as is Polaris in northern latitudes— by its height
above the horizon.
Orientation
We have, therefore, indications of north, south, east, and
west by day or night. If you can determine any of the
cardinal directions you can easily determine the others.
Well out to sea the prevailing winds from about 8° -10° N.
to about 40° N. (look this up on a map or globe and see
where it is) are from the northeast— blowing toward the south-
west. They are called the northeast trades. They will carry
you in a southwesterly direction.
North of 40° N. and south of 40° S. the winds are usually from
the west and will tend to carry you eastward.
These are only general rules. There are many local and
some seasonal exceptions. Learn as much as you can by
observations and questions about the winds and sea currents
in the areas in which you operate.
Learn to pick out the stars that have been mentioned and
many more. Learn where to look for them in the heavens.
That is how the first navigators found their way, and without
navigational instruments it is still the best.
Ill
LANDFALL AND ISLAND SURVIVAL
In looking for land remember that cumulus clouds in an other-
wise clear sky are likely to have been formed over land. Since
they may have drifted from their original position steer to the
windward rather than to the leeward of them. “Lagoon Glare,”
a greenish tint in the sky caused by the reflection of sunlight
from coral reefs, may often be seen from a long distance. It is
often more easily noted by looking slightly to one side of the
point rather than directly at it. Driftwood and floating plants
are a good indication of land. Coral reefs often cause difficulty
in landing and should be approached cautiously. The surf is not
so great if you make your landing on the lee side of an island.
Breaks in the reef are Indicated by calm gaps in the long line
of breakers. If the pass is deep the color will be clear blue.
If shallow it will be uniformly or blotchy brown. For navigation
in shoal coral waters it is always desirable to have the sun
anywhere except dead ahead. The ideal condition is to have
the sun over one’s shoulder or even directly overhead.
Men adrift, especially in northern latitudes, sometimes imagine
they can see things which are not there, such as smoke, sails,
ships, or land. This is a form of mirage, the same phenomenon
that occurs in the desert, and if you experience it, it does not
mean that you are out of your mind or even light-headed.
If you land on an island which is not in enemy territory and
has natives on it, the worst of your troubles are over; they
SI
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
know what to do and will help yon. For more information on
natives see the section on that subject.
Footgear is important here, for cuts made by live coral are
always painful and slow to heaL Your main needs will again
be water, food, and shelter.
PROTECTION FROM THE SUN
On most islands in the tropics some protection from the sun
is necessary to prevent sunstroke and severe sunburn. Should
you lack normal clothing or equipment there are several expe-
dients which will minimize these dangers. Keep out of the sun
as much as possible during the middle of the day. If green leaves
are available tie them on to protect your head from the sun.
Coconut oil smeared over exposed portions of the body also helps.
See following discussion of the coconut.
QUENCHING THIRST
Many islands in the Pacific have a good water supply; others
do not. In this regard it is interesting to note that many native
peoples live permanently on islands that lack streams, springs,
wells, or even coconuts. They get their water in a number of
ways. In some cases there are holes and hollows in the rocks
that collect rain water ; always look for these. Shallow pits or
holes are also dug to catch rain or the seepage of water after
rains, or water is obtained by digging holes along the shore at
low tide. If you are forced to dig such a well, in the absence
of better tools a large shell lashed to a stick makes a serviceable
implement. Do not go deeper than the first water found. Fresh
LANDFALL AND ISLAND SURVIVAL
33
water, being lighter than sea water, has a tendency to remain
on the surface of salty water and that seeping through the sand
may be a bit fresher than the sea water.
A little salt is good for you in the tropics where excessive
perspiration robs the body of natural salts, but remember that
too much salt is bad. Yery limited quantities of the brackish
water should be taken the first day or sickness will result.
This is equally true of any other water drunk after a long pe-
riod of thirst. Sip it up slowly or you will throw it up. In
some cases it is possible to obtain slightly better water than
that from the holes along the beach. There are some of the
low sand islands in the Pacific area that rise from the beach to
an elevation of 30 to 40 feet and from this high point slope
toward a central basin which may or may not contain a lagoon
of salt water. By digging near the foot of the inner slope,
water may be found at a depth of from 3 to 5 feet, especially
if there have been relatively recent rains. As in the case of
the wells along the beach, do not dig too deep or it will fill with
salt water. Stop at the first water found and after the bottom
of the hole has filled skim the water off the top to get the
fresher part of it. Care should be taken not to stir up all
of the water at the bottom of such a well or it may be as salty
as that along the beach. The water thus obtained may be dis-
colored and somewhat brackish but it can be used.
Upon atolls or coral islands which do not have enough rain-
fall to support trees, you will find a weed known as pigweed, or
purslane. To alleviate thirst, chew the fleshy, reddish-green
leaves and stems. The weed stands 8 inches high and covers
the ground in patches. No other atoll plant is like it. (Mg.
8.) On islands covered with jungle there are often air plants
LANDFALL and island survival
36
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
in the trees. The bases of the leayes of these air plants hold
water for a long time. It is necessary to strain out bugs, wrig-
glers or an occasional frog but the water is good. The tips of
the aerial roots of the pandanus tree (Fig. 9) may also be
chewed for their moisture content. On islands where cactus
grows, moisture may be obtained from the pulp of that plant.
THE COCONUT
Where there are coconuts your problem is much simpler.
That the coconut is a valuable source of food and drink is well
known. It also provides coconut oil, strong fibers which can
be used in an emergency to manufacture cordage, and fronds
or leaves for sandals, baskets, and building shelters. The coco-
nut grows wild along the coast of many tropical countries and
islands. The great importance of the coconut justifies a brief
description of its qualities together with directions as to how
the nut can be collected, husked, and opened. For other plant
foods* see section on Tropical Foods.
The coconut grows in clusters on a tall palm. (Fig. 10).
The first problem in the use of the coconut is to get it down
from’ the tree. You may find yourself badly in need of a
coconut for food or drink, but unable to climb the tree, gome
coconut palms are very difficult to climb unless you have
had considerable practice, but there is a simple device known
as “the climbing bandage.” It consists of a belt or rope which
is a little larger around than the circumference of the tree.
If you have a belt or rope or even a piece of cloth put it
around the trunk of the palm tying it so as to leave enough
room for your feet, and step on it with both feet. The loop
will catch on the other side of the trunk and will support your
weight. Beach up with your arms and grasp the trunk with
LANDFALL AND ISLAND SURVIVAL 37
38
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
both hands. Pull yourself up, doubling your knees 'and sliding
the “bandage” up to a higher position with your feet. Straighten
up, resting your weight on the “bandage” to get a new position.
By repeating this process you can climb to any height. You will
note that this permits free use of your hands when you reach the
top, so that you can pick the nuts. Let them drop. They won’t
be hurt, but don’t lie under a coconut tree or they may hurt
you!
On any single palm, the nuts will be in different stages of
maturity. In general, the immature nuts are smaller and
greener than the ripe ones.
The three main stages of the coconut’s development and their
uses should be recognized :
(1) The husk of the half -grown coconut is green or light
yellow. The jelly-like flesh can be scooped out and consumed
in sufficient quantities to satisfy hunger, and balanced with fish,
will sustain life indefinitely. It is at this stage that the water
or milk is best for drinking. It rates next to water and is
better than beer as a thirst quencher.
(2) The hard meat of the mature coconut (the stage at which
the nut is sold commercially in the United States) is too rich
in oil to be eaten in quantity. At this stage the nut has fallen
from the tree and the husk is brown. The milk is still good. The
meat may be grated with a piece of coral or the edge of a shell
and the grated meat squeezed in the hand to produce a thick
cream which can be used as a sauce for fish, pandanus or other
available food.
; (3); The sprouted nut (the shoot of a new tree has begun to
grow and roots appear) has a spongy growth within at the
stem end. The growth gradually absorbs all of the milk and
LANDFALL AND ISLAND SURVIVAL
39
meat. It is excellent food and a welcome variation from coco-
nut meat.
If a tree can be felled (not a recommended procedure,
obviously, where trees are sparse), a large amount of edible
celery-like material known as the heart of the coconut, or “cab-
bage,” may be obtained from the center of the trunk at its junc-
ture with the sprouting leaves.
The nut is encased in a husk consisting of a smooth exterior
and a matting of tough fibers. If you have a heavy knife or an
axe, you need not remove the husk of the green coconut in order
to get at the liquid. You can whittle off the husk at the free
end (not the stem end) to a crude point and then cut off the
end and the top of the nut inside, thus obtaining the liquid. If,
however, you do not have a machete , which incidentally is the
most valuable single thing a man can have in the tropics , you
can follow this procedure: drive a stake, 3 or 4 feet long, into
the ground so that it slants away from you at a slight angle.
The top of the stake should be given a crude edge so that it
will pierce the longitudinal fibers of the husk. Stand about a
foot away from the stake, judging the point of entry so that
the stake will clear the nut within the husk. Then push down
with your hands giving the coconut a twisting motion to pry off
a small portion of the husk. By repeating this process, you
can entirely remove the husk from the nut. You can husk
green or mature nuts in the same manner.
Once the nut has been removed from the husk, your problem
is to break through the hard shell of the nut. To open a young
nut, hold it in one hand so that the eyes, which are at the stem
end, are uppermost. Strike the nut sharply with a stone, or the
point of a mature nut, just below each of the eyes. This will
40
SURVIVAL OH LAND AND SEA
crack the shell and the top of the nut can be picked off without
spilling the liquid. If the nut is mature, poke out the eyes and
drink the water. To break it open place it on its side on the palm
of your hand. In your other hand grasp a stone and strike the
middle of the nut with it. Revolve the nut a quarter turn and
strike it again. Continue to turn the nut, striking it each time,
until the nut cracks in half.
Coconut oil is a good preventive for sunburn, as well as an
aid to keeping off small mites, sometimes called chiggers, and
other insects. You can get coconut oil quite easily by exposing
the meat of the coconut to the sun. The oil will run more
quickly if you grate or pound it before placing it in the sun.
You can also get coconut oil by heating coconut meat over a
slow fire. If you have any kind of cooking pot or a section cut
from a bamboo tree (see p. 41, under Sea Food) you can boil
coconut meat in water ; when the mixture cools the oil will rise
to the top. If you apply even a thin coating of coconut oil to
your skin you need have little fear of sunburn.
The natives of Oceania have discovered that coconut oil is a
good preventive against salt water sores and bloating. Before
going fishing on the reef they are careful to smear their legs and
feet with this oil. By this means, they are able to keep their
skin in good condition, despite the fact that they have to stand
in salt water many hours at a time.
ISLAND SEA FOOD
Anyone stranded on a beach or shore should have little diffi-
culty in maintaining himself for an indefinite period on shellfish
or mollusks. These are an abundant source of food much appre-
LANDFALL AND ISLAND' SURVIVAL
41
dated by all native peoples. All you need to do is work along
the beacb when the tide is out and gather a supply. There will
be no difficulty in finding mollusks by turning over blocks of
coral rock or picking them up in exposed situations. If you
do not see anything but empty shells walk slowly along the beach
and watch for bubbles in the sand — like those seen in the bot-
tom of springs. When you see them dig down and you will find
your mollusks. Shellfish can be eaten raw, as we eat oysters,
and the juice coming from clams is not only nutritious but serves
to quench thirst as well. The shells can be crushed with a
rock or a piece of wood and the animal be extracted. Shellfish
can be cooked by covering them with sand or earth and building
a fire over the pile. (For fire-making methods when you have
no matches see section under Tropical Forests p. 65.) When
this is done they steam in their own juices. They can also be
cooked by being dropped in a container of boiling water. Sec-
tions of bamboo can serve this purpose. Cut a section from a
large bamboo stem, preserving one of the joints to form the bot-
tom. The green shell is so durable that water can be boiled in
it before the bamboo burns. If the container is held over the
fire on a slant rather than straight up and down, the water
heats faster. A hole lined with canvas or other material which
will hold water can also be used for cooking. In the latter
case hot rocks moved from the fire by improvised wooden tongs
are dropped into the water until boiling is complete. Mollusks
are found on reefs and beaches everywhere in this vast south-
ern area. Similar forms appear in other tropical seas such as
the Caribbean and parts of the South Atlantic.
There are two groups of tropical mollusks, fortunately not
common, that should be avoided. These are the cones, so named
42
SURVIVAL, ON LAND AND SEA
from cone-like shape of their shells (see figs. 11 and 12) and the
spindle-shaped terebras. Because of their characteristic form
they are easily recognized. They have poison glands at the
base of their hollow teeth and their bite is similar to that of
venomous snakes. They should be left alone.
Figure 11. — Poisonous Terebras. Length %" to 8".
In addition to the mollusks, crabs and lobsters are to be found
in the crevices and among rocks or reefs and rocky shores.
Included among the crabs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans is a
large swimming variety that is related to our Chesapeake Bay
blue crab (they turn red on being cooked). This form is
distinguished by the paddle-like shape of the last pair of legs.
LANDFALL AND ISLAND SURVIVAL 43
Figure 12. — Poisonous Cones. Length to 10".
Crabs and lobsters can most easily be caught at night, as that
is the time when they generally move about. They may be
stunned with a stick or stone, caught in the hands, or trapped.
They often can be taken on a line baited with dead fish or
spoiled meat. Tie the bait on just above a sinker of some kind
and pull in from time to time, not too hard or the crab will let
go, to see if you have caught one. Traps baited with fish or
animal flesh are commonly used by commercial crab and lobster-
men but probably would not be practical, except for more or
44
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
less permanently established shore parties. A dip net fashioned
by making a hoop from a shoot or small branch and interlacing
strips of palm leaves or fibers or one made from an article of
clothing, is most useful in taking these creatures. Spiny lob-
sters or sea crawfish in the Tropics do not have large pincers
on their front legs but do have “thorns” or spines on their
backs. These can produce severe lacerations if seized by the
bare hand. Hence the hand should be protected, if possible,
by a stout glove or some equivalent. Spiny lobsters often may be
caught by placing a dipnet behind them and with the foot
touching their antennae, the long flexible processes projecting
from their heads. This causes the creatures to move backward
quickly into the net or bag, which must be yanked up immedi-
ately. Crabs also may occur in fresh-water lakes and streams,
both in the mountains and on the plains, and frequently travel
about on dry land. Some, such as the purse-crab of the East
Indies, may be found on the trunks of trees.
As far as is known all crabs and lobsters, whether marine,
fresh-water, or land forms, are fit for human consumption pro-
vided they are fresh. Salt water forms can be eaten raw with
little likelihood of bad effects, but all land crabs , particularly
in Asia and the closely adjacent islands, should be thoroughly
cooked , since they are infected with lung parasites that are
often fatal to human beings if the animals are eaten raw. The
best way to cook crabs and lobsters is to drop them alive
into boiling water and keep them boiling for 20 minutes to half
an hour. Thus there is no danger of decay before cooking and
they become sterilized at the same time.. The shells and pulpy
gills are easily removed after cooking. Most people insist that
the gills (sometimes called the “deadman’s fingers”) be re-
LANDFALL AHD ISLAND SURVIVAL
45
moved immediately. Actually they are harmless and will
cause no trouble if eaten. They have acquired a bad name
because they are about the first spot to spoil. All danger of this
is avoided by immediate cooking and eating.
In addition to mollusks and fish, another source of food are
the holothurians of sea-cucumbers (like fig. 49-G). These ani-
mals are found on all tropical reefs, and almost everywhere on
rocky shores. In the Indo-Pacific region, especially on the Aus-
tralian reefs, they form the basis of an extensive and valuable
fishery. They are also common in the West Indies. The kinds
used as food are for the most part roughly cylindrical with a more
or less corrugated or warty tough skin, usually from a foot to a
foot and a half long when extended, and about half as long when
contracted. The Australian commercial variety is even longer.
The edible portion of a sea-cucumber consists of five long white
muscles on the inside of the body. These can be stripped off
and boiled, fried, or eaten raw.
Still another source of sea food is sea urchins or sea eggs.
Sea urchins are found on all tropical reefs and along all rocky
shores and form an important source of food in many regions,
especially in southern Europe, the West Indies, southern South
America, parts of the Indo-Pacific region, and the Aleutian
Islands. They are globular in shape, usually somewhat flat-
tened, from 2 to 6 inches in diameter and are covered with
spines (like fig. 4£M3) . The edible portion consists of the masses
of eggs within their bodies. These eggs usually form five finger-
like, more or less yellow colored processes on top of the body
inside the shell. They may be eaten either raw or boiled.
In temperate and arctic seas all the sea urchins present
may be handled with impunity. But in the tropical seas there
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46
SURVIVAL OK LAND AKB SEA
are two types that are more or less dangerous. These are the
so-called needle-urchins and the soft-bodied urchins.
The needle-urchins are from 2 or 3 to 6 inches in diameter,
black or more or less reddish, with very long and slender needle-
pointed spines which may reach 10 or even 15 inches in length.
These spines are provided with whorls of minute barbs and are
very brittle, breaking off after penetrating the liesh. One form
of needle-urchin found throughout the Indo-Pacific region but
not in the Atlantic has, in addition to the very long spines,
numerous shorter, much more slender, and smooth spines which
are connected with poison glands. These shorter spines are
definitely dangerous even to touch, as they discharge an active
and painful poison.
The soft-bodied urchins occur in shallow water throughout
the Indo-Pacific region, but not in the Atlantic or along the
west coast of tropical America. They reach a diameter of nearly
7 inches, and are much flattened. The usual size is between 3
and 6 inches. They vary in color from dark purplish or greenish
hues to white, and often are more or less extensively marked
with red. Some are almost wholly red. Usually they show an
iridescent blue tinge. The shell is flexible, feeling somewhat
like parchment, and is not rigid like that in most sea urchins.
The spines are short and fine, rather widely scattered, and are
exceedingly sharp. Some of them, more slender than the others,
are provided with glands that secrete a very powerful poison
that produces effects similar to those caused by the poison from
the bites of sea-snakes or cobras. To be certain whether a sea
urchin is soft-bodied or not poke it with a stick or some other
object before you touch it with your hand.
LANDFALL AND ISLAND SURVIVAL
4F
Hints on Fishing and Preparing Fish
Fish are one of the most abundant types of food available on
the reefs, in the lagoons, and in the sea. At night some species
of fish come close inshore and swim along the surface. By re-
maining still, a person can hit them with sticks or spear them
with a sharpened pole as they surface.
The outer margins of reefs usually contain channels, while on
the surfaces of reefs are pools among the rocks and coral blocks.
Fish frequently swim into these places at high tide, leaving as
the water recedes. It is possible to trap them at such times by
blocking the opening with rocks, sticks, or leaves from palm
trees. Stones also may be built into low walls extending out
into the water and forming an angle with the shore. Fish can
be driven into this neck or narrow channel and into a pool at its
inner end, and there be confined in the manner mentioned above.
In many cases, it may be advantageous to keep them alive until
needed, a fresh supply without danger of spoilage thus being
provided. In addition, the usual methods of hook and line fish-
ing should be used. If you do not have regular equipment try
making your own as suggested in the section on Food at Sea,
page 10.
When more fish are caught than are required to satisfy im-
mediate needs, it is possible to preserve them for a time by cut-
ting the flesh into small thin strips, washing with clean water,
then hanging in the wind and sunlight to dry. Another method
after the fish is properly cleaned, is to cut diagonal slits from
one-half to one inch apart across the sides of the fish. The fish
is then hung in the sun or placed on the surface of a rock with
cuts exposed for drying. Such fish may also be salted or smoked.
48
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
Under ordinary conditions, these methods should preserve the
fish for a few days in the tropics.
Fish caught in tropical waters spoil quickly. Immediately
after landing a fish it should be bled by cutting out the gills and
large blood vessels that supply them, and then gutted, being
careful to remove the kidneys and blood vessels that lie next to
the backbone. The fish should then be washed in clean water.
If the fish have been feeding heavily and are not gutted, the
digestive substances continue to act, even after death, on the
food in the stomach and intestines so that the flesh spoils with
great rapidity. The same fish, properly cleaned and hung up
by the tail in the shade and breeze, will remain good for many
hours.
Never eat a fish that has slimy gills, sunken eyes, flabby
flesh or skin, or an unpleasant odor. If, upon pressing the
thumb against the fish it remains deeply dented, the fish prob-
ably is stale. Do not use it. Good flesh should be firm and
not slimy.
Fish With Poisonous Flesh
Most fish are edible, palatable, and wholesome. However,
there are a few with flesh that is definitely poisonous and it is
important that everyone recognize these.
All of the important fish with poisonous flesh belong to
one large group, the Plectognathi, of which there are many
kinds in the tropics. All these fish lack ordinary scales such
as occur on bass, grouper, and sea trout. Instead, these
poisonous fish are covered with bristles or spiny scales, strong-
sharp thorns, or spines, or are encased in a bony box-like cover-
LANDFALL AND ISLAND SURVIVAL
49
ing. Some of them have naked skin, that is, no spines or scales.
Never eat a fish that blows itself up like a balloon.
The different kinds of poisonous fish can be easily recog-
nized by the illustrations herein presented. The usual names
given to these poisonous Plectognaths are: swell fish or puffer
fish, porcupine fish, burr fish, cowfish, trunk fish, box fish, thorn
fish. In addition, the filefish or fool fish and the trigger fish
may be looked upon with suspicion for they too have been cred-
ited with poisonous flesh, but in certain regions the filefish and
trunk fish are regularly eaten. If the natives use them, they are
all right. Unless you know, however, leave them alone. The
flesh of the puffers, porcupine fish, and the related species is vio-
lently poisonous. Cooking does not destroy the poisonous alka-
loid in these fish. Obviously these known poisonous fish should
never be eaten, as violent sickness and even death may result.
\
Fish With Venomous or Poisonous Spines
Certain other fish should be avoided for a different reason.
They have sharp spines on their heads and in their fins. These
spines may cause a burning or stinging, even an agonizing pain,
that is out of all proportion to the apparent severity of the
wound. This is the result of venom that is injected when the
spines penetrate the flesh. The venom varies greatly in
quantity and in power. In the most venomous varieties it is
as deadly as that of the most dangerous snakes.
The worst of the venemous fish are the Scorpaenidae. They
are generally known by the following common names : scorpion
fish, w’arty lumpfish or stonefish, toadfish, zebra fish or tiger
fish, and stinging fish. These are illustrated. (Fig. 18.)
50
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
A. Scorpion fish.
B. Filefish (trigger fish similar).
C. Sting ray (as seen from above).
D. Zebra fish.
E. Stonefish (sometimes called
toadfish).
F. Toadfish.
G. Porcupine fish (puffer similar).
Figure 13.-— -Poisonous and venomous fish.
Stonefish do not swim about to any extent. They gener-
ally lie quietly on the bottom, which they exactly resemble in
LANDFALL AND ISLAND SURVIVAL
51
color. As a rule they are either yellowish gray or blackish
in color, often having flecks or patches of red or orange that
give them a mottled appearance like the floor of the sea.
When wading on a reef you should keep careful watch for
such fish. Make it a rule to carry a long sharp pole or bamboo
stick and poke any suspicious looking object on the bottom.
At the slightest touch each of the projecting spines on these
fish injects venom and causes severe pain. A full charge of
venom from the whole dorsal fin has been known to cause death.
The next most dangerous after the scorpion fish are the
sting rays. These occur in lagoons, shallow bays, estuaries, and
far up many of the tropical rivers. They usually lie on the bot-
tom concealed in the mud or sand. Sting rays are easily
recognized when seen. (Fig. 13-C.) The tail may be long or
very short, and is armed with one or two long, sharp-pointed
spines with serrated edges. When stepped upon, the ray re-
peatedly whips its tail upward with great force and fury and
may drive the spine clear through one of the bones of the leg
or foot as well as through the flesh. The pain is most severe
and infection usually results. When walking in turbid or muddy
water or over sandy or muddy bottom, poke ahead of you with
your stick and do not pick your feet up and set them down in the
usual manner. Slide them along in the mud. Should your feet
touch a hidden sting ray it will swim away as fast as it can.
If you set your foot squarely on one, however, your weight will
anchor it down and give the tail the leverage needed to drive
the spine into you.
Some catfish have poison glands at the base of the spines
on the breast fin. This venom is much like that of bees, caus-
ing severe pain, but it is not deadly. Since some of the larger
catfish have barbed spines, the wound made is jagged and
secondary infection may occur.
52
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
All wounds made by fish spines should be thoroughly cleaned
and disinfected at once.
Handling Dangerous Fish
Never attempt to pick up a scorpion fish of any kind with the
bare hands. It makes no difference how the fish has been taken,
with hook and line, poison or dynamite. If the fish has any life
left, a slight movement may drive a spine into your finger, car-
rying enough venom to cause excruciating agony. Always use
a dip net , your spear , or some substitute , such as your machete or
bayonet. Never poke your bare hands into holes or crevices in
the corals or feel under rocks. To do so invites grave risk of
serious wounds. A moray eel or wolf fish may be in such hid-
ing places. Moray eels are brightly colored and many have
strongly marked patterns. In the American tropics a common
one is greenish black in color and 5 to 6 feet long. One form in
the Mediterranean is golden yellow in front, purple toward the
tail, and is beautifully banded and mottled. It attains a length
of 4 feet or more. In the Pacific some of those around the coral
reefs grow to a length of 10 feet or more, and commonly have a
light-colored background with black spots or a network of black
lines. Others have black or brownish over-all color and orange
to yellow spots. The morays are always hungry and very savage.
Their jaws have strong, knifelike teeth and can easily nip off a
finger or two. They have even been known to bite through a
heavy shoe. Like other eels, however, they are good to eat.
Wolf fish are grayish or brownish in color and have an elongate
body, 4 to 6 feet in length, tapering to a more or less rounded
tail. They have strong, sharp teeth and are noted for their
ferocity. Natives avoid such dangers almost instinctively. You
must learn — but don’t learn the hard way. Death may be the
result of carelessness.
IV
NATIVES
%
If yon are in a region inhabited by native peoples make every
effort to get in touch with them and ask them for help. You run
little danger if you approach them in a friendly manner. Never
show fear, or threaten, or flourish a gun. As a rule it is fear
on the part of natives that makes them attack strangers and
if you do nothing to cause concern you will be perfectly safe.
Go up to them as you would to individuals of your own race
and color, smile, offer a cigarette if you have one, and make
your wants known. You may need to use signs to show them
what you want — food, water, or directions — but natives are
accustomed to such procedure, as they often communicate in
that fashion themselves and will understand. The important
thing is to treat them with dignity. Most of them have a
strong sense of self-respect and do not regard themselves as ‘"na-
tives’5 or primitive. They will appreciate being treated as human
beings just like yourself, neither as inferiors nor as superiors.
Should the natives be inclined to be shy or unapproachable do
not rush matters by going right up to them. Stop where you
are. Sit down and light up a smoke. If you know any tricks
with string, take out, a piece and proceed to do things with iff
Most natives have and are fond of an elaborate variety of string
figures, such as the familiar cat’s cradle, which they make for
their own amusement and on some occasions for ceremonial
53
54
SURVIVAL OK LAND AND SEA
purposes. They also are very curious and in a short time some
of them may not be able to hold back any longer and will come
to see what you are doing. When they do, hand them the string
and they will probably show you a few tricks. If you don’t
have string take out some trinket and show interest in it. They
will want to see, too. Once the ice is broken, you can go
ahead and ask for what you need. This method of approach has
been used many times in many parts of the world by those going
to study native peoples and rarely has it failed to produce the
desired results.
Most native houses are small and crowded and more often
than not are infested with fleas, lice, bedbugs, and other disease-
carrying creatures. It is strongly advised that you do not stay
in them unless compelled by extreme circumstances. If it is
apparent that you are to be there for some time they can and
probably will be willing to build you a shelter in short order.
Of course, one should never enter a native house without being
invited. They don’t like to have strangers come barging into
their homes any more than you would. Without making it
seem that you are doing so, it is advisable to avoid as much as
possible all physical contacts with the natives. They often
suffer from serious skin diseases, syphilis, tuberculosis, and
other communicable ailments. If it can be done without giving
offense, one should prepare his own food and drink in such
surroundings.
Should it be necessary for you to remain with a native group
for any length of time you must be very observant and learn from
experience what you can and can not do. Respect their customs
and manners. They have an entirely different form of etiquette
from ours, but one that they believe in as strongly as we do in
NATIVES
55
ours. In general yon will find that the less civilized the natives
are, the stronger the local taboos or restraints will be and the
more you will be expected to conform to them. Respect for per-
sonal property, as well as for privacy, is very important. Never
pick fruits, kill pigs, or take other food without first ascertain-
ing their ownership, gaining permission and paying for them.
Remember that in isolated regions money has little value ; paper
money is actually worthless and coins only are a medium of ex-
change insofar as they have trinket or jewelry value. Often-
times matches, cigarettes, empty containers, or other odds and
ends that you may have in your pockets are worth more to the
native than any form of money. An exception, of course, would
be a group that is living close to the outposts of civilization and
white man’s stores. Under such conditions money may be the
preferred medium of exchange, but unless it is, don’t try to force
it on them. Be sure, however, that you make some form of pay-
ment. Also, if you make a promise of any kind, keep it literally.
You can’t pull a fast one on a native and get away with it.
One thing above all to bear in mind is to leave the native wo-
men alone . More white men have been killed by natives for
trying to make some dusky dame than for any other reason.
Even if the circumstances are favorable, which they may be
under certain conditions with a father, brother, or husband
offering a woman to you, it is better to skip the opportunity, as a
case of venereal disease usually can be expected as a follow-up,
this being one of the “benefits” of civilization bestowed by the
white man wherever he has gone. If you must play with fire re-
gardless of all considerations, do your dickering with the men
and pay them first. Native women are often considered as
chattels and do not have free say in such matters. Permission
56
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
in such cases must come from some male relative as well as the
woman herself. Also remember that among native peoples there
is frequently little secrecy about such affairs. They usually
become a matter of common village gossip.
When staying with natives there are certain things you can
do that will help you to become accepted as a member of the
group more quickly than if you hold aloof. Entertain them with
match tricks, games, feats of skill, dances and songs. Unless
you are unusually strong and proficient along that line, don’t
try to impress them with plain bull strength, as the natives prob-
ably are better equipped than you are In that respect and might
show you a thing or two. They like to entertain too, so be a
good audience and let them perform for you and be duly ap-
preciative of their efforts. Show admiration for products of
native handicraft, but don’t be too profuse in your praise or
they may feel they should give the object to you. Most “primi-
tive” peoples are rather fond of playing practical jokes and
probably will do so at your expense. If you find yourself the
victim of some native form of “hot-foot,” join them in their
laughter; don’t lose your temper and show anger even though
they have hurt you. Another thing that is of great help in
winning favor is to learn as many words of the native language
as you can pick up. They will take delight in teaching you
if you show a willingness and desire to learn. Whatever you
do , leave a good impression because other white men may come
along later and need help. If you have abused your privileges
or taken advantage of the people those who follow will suffer
for it.
Should you be stationed where you have time ashore and there
are natives, make friends with some of them and have them
NATIVES
57
show yon the many useful tricks they know — how they fish,
how they make snares and traps to catch birds and small
animals, what plants are good for food, and how they cook
their various dishes. This not only will help you pass the time,
but it may give you a fund of knowledge that will some day
save you.
/
y
TROPICAL FORESTS
Most of us think of the “ jungle” in terms of a Tarzan movie.
The word originally meant a “track of uncultivated land,” but
now it is used more specifically to mean a dense tropical thicket
of bamboos and palms as in India, of brush and vines as in
Australia, of gigantic tangled grasses as in Africa, or to indicate
a parklike woodland of tropical trees, a forest choked with
undergrowth, or a tangled and impenetrable swamp.
The great tropical jungles of the present day are found in
western Africa, northern South America, and southeastern Asia
and its islands. The average seaman or Marine is not likely
to be plopped down in the center of one of these places as are
Marine and Naval aviators, but with the growing use of air
transport for Naval personnel such a thing may happen. Fur-
thermore, as a result of landing operations you may find yourself
in such a location. Knowledge of how to conduct yourself in a
tropical forest will serve in any one of these areas in spite of the
fact that each one differs from the others.
Remember that the tropical forest is just another woods on
a grand scale and that the man who learns how to use it has
more chance of survival in it, over a long period of time, than
he probably would have in the forest areas of our own country.
If it seems to have more alarming noises than you have ever
heard before don't get excited. Most of them are caused by
58
TROPICAL FORESTS
59
frogs, monkeys, and insects, and other small creatures that
exist there in greater numbers than you will ever find in the
more northern countries. Even though the movies have taught
you that life in the jungle is just one narrow escape after
another from leopards, tigers, elephants, and other unpleasant
creatures, you probably won’t see any of them at all because
many places don’t have them, and where they are present they
make every effort to avoid contact with man. The most you
can expect to see in the way of animals will be birds, squirrels,
hares, monkeys, and other small forms that are active during
the day. None of them is dangerous, if left alone.
WATER
Water will not prove to be so much of a problem in most
tropical forests as on small atolls and desert islands. In areas
of heavy rainfall the earth is so soaked with moisture that a
small hole dug in any low spot will yield water. Then there are
streams, ponds, springs, and places where water collects from
rain and seepage. The main problem is one of purity and no sur-
face water should toe drunk without toeing tooiled or chemically
treated. In higher portions of the mountains on large islands
and the mainland the water from swiftly flowing streams and
springs may be used without treatment if absolutely necessary,
but even then you will be taking a chance.
In forested areas there frequently are ferns and so-called air-
plants in the trees. The bases of the leaves of these plants col-
lect and hold water for a long time. When strained through
a cloth the water is safe to drink ; it contains no pollution from
human sources. Dew can be collected by spreading a piece of
60
SURVIVAL OH LAUD AND SEA
BEWARlE
LONG
JUNGLE
VINE
Figure 14. — Rattan. See pp. 61, 66, and 112.
TROPICAL FORESTS
61
canvas or rubber blanket under the branches of trees and shrubs
and shaking the water off the leaves.
The rattans, palms with long slender segmented stems that
look like a bamboo vine (see fig. 14), and other large climbing
vines carry water absorbed by their roots. Throughout tropical
America the so-called “water vine” is well known from this use.
To get water, make two cuts, the first a deep notch high up, the
second near the ground, where the water will flow. As flow
ceases, make further deep cuts down from the first.
GETTING OUT OF THE WOODS
Tropical forests are regions of heavy rainfall. In some cases
this may be continual throughout the year ; in others rains come
only during certain seasons. In wet forests there usually is
little undergrowth except along the banks of streams where it
generally is very heavy, but in the so-called dry forests where
the rainfall is seasonal the bush may be so thick that you have
to hack your way through it wherever you go. In all of these
forests, streams or their dry beds are plentiful. As in our own
country, following a stream down is certain eventually to lead
you to human settlements, and the larger the stream the sooner
they will be reached. Streams also lead to the coast and that
is where you want to go, arriving as soon as possible. If you are
in the mountains, it is probably better to follow the ridges as the
stream beds are often precipitous.
If you follow a stream you will not only be provided with
water, but with such edible creatures as crabs, shrimps, mollusks,
and fish. If it is a large stream build a raft and float it down.
Use soft woods, the lighter the better, for the raft. Lash the
570603°— 44 5
62
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
pieces together with vines or fibrous strips of bark. Sections
of bamboo, because of their hollow air-filled segments, make
the best rafts if that type of growth is available. Fibrous
woods, such as the palms, do not float well and will soon sink.
While drifting down stream on a raft keep your ears open for
the roar of rapids or falls so that you don’t get caught and
swept over them. You may have to abandon several rafts in
the course of your journey and build new ones, but that is better
than trying to ride out a bad stretch of water.
If the stream is too small or too shallow to float a raft you
may have to follow along it on foot. In many cases it is im-
possible to travel through the heavy vegetation growing along the
banks. On the ridge above, however, you will usually find the
trees and bushes more open and may even strike a trail, although
it probably won’t be as sharp and clear cut as trails in your own
woods. The forest people are great travelers within limited
areas and follow the easiest routes.
Always remember to take your time. You will make better
headway if you do. If you come to a bog or swamp, go around it;
don’t try to fight your way through; you might get caught hip
deep in muck. If a tree has fallen across a trail, travel around
it, not through its branches. It will take longer and use up more
energy than going around and you are less likely to become con-
fused if you don’t get entangled in vegetation. At sunny clear-
ings or. openings in the main forest the scrubby second growth
may almost or completely obliterate the path. In such cases cross
the clearing and work along* its edge until you again find the
trail among the trees. If you come to a fork, take the path that
seems to have had the most travel. Never follow one that is
closed by a string, rope, grass mat, or some other obvious barrier.
TROPICAL FORESTS
68
It may lead to the scene of native religious rites that are for-
bidden to strangers, or you may fall into a pit or other dangerous
trap set for large game. Smooth, well-traveled trails, particu-
larly if they tend to be straight and rather broad, may be game
trails and when following these it is well to be on the alert con-
tinuously for places that seem to have been disturbed or that
have a slightly different appearance from the rest of the ground
as they may indicate the presence of a pitfall or trap of some
kind. It is well to watch for possible game when traveling such
a trail, although it would be a rare thing if you encountered any
during daylight hours. Do not camp for the night on such a
trail, as that is the time when traffic will be heavy. In tropical
forests in Central and South America broad, straight paths may
be made by wild pigs and droves of them may rush along such
“highways’’ attacking and running over anything that may be
in their way. Should you happen to be in such a situation and
hear considerable noise in the offing, waste no time in climbing
into a tree at one side of the trail.
In the open sun, even on a cloudy day, wear something on your
head. If you have lost your hat or helmet a layer of green leaves
under a knotted handkerchief or piece of cloth will give you
protection. Do not expose yourself to sunburn as it may seriously
incapacitate you. During the hottest hours of the day it is well
to follow the example of the natives and rest quietly under a tree.
Kemember the old song “Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in
the midday sun.” Stop travel well before nightfall so that
you will have plenty of time to prepare a camp before dark-
ness. Don’t forget that twilight is very short in the tropics
and that the interval between sunset and dark is brief. Your
64
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
camp should be on rising ground, well back from the stream and
away from swamps and bogs, where mosquitoes and sand flies
and gnats will be less numerous. Should there be any breeze
stirring put your camp where you will get full benefit from it.
A crude lean-to or A-type shelter with a frame of sticks or
bamboo with large leaves of leafy branches for walls and a roof
will give protection from the cold dew of the tropics and also
from prowling animals. Where there is any form of construction
the latter will suspect a trap and keep away. In making a lean-to,
sink uprights, preferably forked at the upper end, into the ground
several feet apart. Then lash a ridge pole in the forks or at the
top of the uprights and place inclined pieces from the forks and
the ridge pole, their opposite ends resting on the ground at what
will be the rear of the shelter. Lash a series of cross pieces to
the inclined timbers at intervals not too widely separated. Then,
starting at the bottom as you would in shingling a house, thatch
the framework with wide-leaved branches. These will hold their
positions better if the branches are hooked onto the cross pieces.
The bigger and broader the leaves the better the roof. A simpler
form of construction, one probably sufficient for a single night,
is to place a whole series of inclined pieces along the ridge pole,
covering the framework with wide-leaved branches but not
bothering to hook them to the framework. For the A-type struc-
ture the same procedure may be followed except that the ridge
pole needs to be higher and you make two sides to the roof instead
of one. A variation may be made by using a series of inverted
V-shaped frames for the main support instead of the upright
sticks in the center to support the lashed ridge pole. The large
leaves of coconut trees are particularly good for making shelters.
The leaves themselves attain a length up to 12 feet and the center
TROPICAL FORESTS
65
stem is strong enough to be used as the timbers for the frame-
work of the structure. Several pairs of these stems lashed in
the V-shape with another for the ridge pole make an ideal
support for a covering of untrimmed leaves. A shelter of this
type large enough to hold 6 men can be built in half an hour.
Do not sleep on the bare ground ; it will be cold and damp and
you will be more susceptible to visits from various crawling bugs.
Make a mat or bed of leaves on which to lie. If you are going
to be in the same place for several nights and want to get com-
pletely off the ground, make a framework of sticks supported on
forked uprights embedded in the ground and pile your leaves
on top of it.
FIREMAKING
A fire is advisable and should be built in front of the open side
of your shelter. Starting a fire may be a problem ; it will prove
doubly so if you have no matches, and to avoid such a con-
tingency you should always 'keep some matches about your per-
son in a waterproof container. It is even better if the heads
have been dipped in paraffin. The old-fashioned nonsafety
matches are the best, but safety matches will serve the purpose
if kept carefully wrapped in an oilskin tobacco pouch, or in
the cellophane from a cigarette package so that the striking
surface, as well as the matches, is kept dry. Remember to
wrap your matches again as soon as you have used one, as the
jungle dampness or perspiration acts on them very quickly. As
a matter of fact, a lighter that works and that is kept filled
with fluid is much better in moist climates than matches. To
find something dry enough to burn in wet weather it will be
necessary for you to strip the bark from dead trees or to cut
66
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
away the wet exterior from dead branches and get at the dry
wood towards the center. Dead branches pniled from a stand-
ing tree may be drier than those lying on the ground. Start
with a small fire, enlarging it as more pieces catch, and don’t
try to use logs of any size until the blaze is well under way.
Once the fire has a good start yon can keep wood drying beside
it so that it will burn readily when needed. It is well to lay
in a big enough supply to last the night when you are gathering
wood. In building the fire it helps if it is placed against several
logs of large diameter lying on the ground. If you are in a
clearing where there is a breeze, build the fire on the windward
side of the logs. They will help to produce a draft and in time
will start to burn themselves and help to* throw off heat. When
you have a good blaze going it is well to dry out your clothes.
This is not only to make you feel more comfortable, but it will
keep you from getting chilled in the cooler hours of the night.
Green leaves thrown on the fire will make a smudge and help
drive off the mosquitoes and sandflies.
When you don’t have matches or a lighter there are a number
of ways of starting fires. Natives as a rule are quite adept in
the matter, but the average white man needs considerable prac-
tice and it may take you a long time to master the art. If you
persist, however, you probably will succeed. Making fire by
friction is not easy. Perhaps the method most likely to be pro-
ductive, certainly the most efficient of the friction methods, is
that of the fire thong. Its use has been widespread throughout
southeastern Asia, the East Indies, and West Africa, and at one
time it was employed in northern Europe. All that is needed in
the way of equipment is a strip of dry rattan (Fig. 14), prefera-
bly about one-quarter inch in diameter and about 2 feet long, and
TROPICAL FORESTS
67
a dry stick about three-fourths inch in diameter and long enough
so that it can be held on a rock or another piece of wood with
the foot, one end being off the ground. The latter end should
be split, the split being held open by a piece of twig or a pebble,
and a good sized pinch of tinder wedged snugly, but not too
tightly into the open part of the split. The rattan is then held
firmly, one end in each hand, and is looped under the split so that
the contact will be directly beneath and with the tinder. The
rattan is then drawn rapidly back and forth with as much pres-
sure as can be applied, the stick being held firmly in place with
the foot. Within a few seconds the tinder should start to
smoke. When it is smoking well, withdraw it and blow on it
until a red coal appears and finally a flame. Beforehand gather
shavings, bits of bark, and small twigs that can be added until
a blaze sufficient to start larger pieces of wood has been
developed.
Tinder may be made from fine, dry vegetable fibers, grass,
moss, from lint from a piece of canvas, from a bandage from
your first aid kit, or from a piece of your clothing. The fine
down from the breasts of birds or from beneath their wings
also makes good tinder. Whatever is used, however, must be
completely dry. Natives who use this method generally carry
their rattan thong with them, wrapped around one arm above
the elbow where it can be kept dry and also serve as an orna-
ment. This is particularly true of the tribes of the central
mountains of New Guinea. They also carry tinder in a pouch
where it can be kept dry.
In the Polynesian area of the Pacific Islands the natives com-
monly use what is called a fire plow. They find a piece of
soft wood 2% to 3 inches in diameter and long enough so that
68
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
one end can be held down by the feet and the other by sitting
on it. The stick of wood is split in half and placed on the
ground with the rounded side down and the split side with the
the pith groove up. The latter serves as the track in which a
smaller, flat-pointed stick of the same kind of wood (in some
cases a piece of harder wood is used) is rubbed rapidly back
and forth. At the start it may be necessary to hold the rubbing
stick at a low angle until a good groove is made, one about 5
or 6 inches in length. As soon as the groove is formed the
stick is tilted to a 40° to 45° angle and the rubbing continued
with gradually increasing speed and a strong downward pres-
sure. Wood dust collects at the point of the rubbing stick and
as the backward and forward movement continues the dust
chars, smoke appears, and a glowing spark develops. Care
must be taken not to carry the stroke too far forward and
scatter the pile of dust. Friction is the important factor and
to obtain it rapid movement is essential. The faster you work
the rubbing stick the greater the likelihood that you will get out
of the groove and lose the accumulation of hot wood dust, hence
the need to concentrate on the matter of stopping the forward
stroke at the proper place. Once you have produced the
smouldering spark or ember it is necessary to nurse the spark
into flame with tinder as in the case of the fire thong.
Another method of obtaining the first glowing ember is by
m’eans of a two-stick fire drill (Fig. 15). This system has been
world-wide in its distribution, but is probably one of the most
difficult to master. For a drill get a straight, seasoned stick or
plant stalk 1 from one-fourth to five-eights inch in diameter
and 15 to 30 inches in length. Round oft the ends ; don’t make
sharp points on them. Then find a dry, dead branch to make
TROPICAL FORESTS
69
the hearth. Split the branch so that there will be a relatively
fiat surface and make a concave depression in it to receive
the drill. Cut a narrow slot leading out from the side of this cup
Figure 15.— Making fire with how drill, and two-stick fire drill.
to receive the wood dust produced by the rubbing of the spindle or
drill against the wood of the hearth; sometimes a very small
TO
SURVIVAL OK LAKD AKD SEA
quantity of sand in the cup will increase the friction. Place the
base or hearth board on the ground where you can hold it
down with your knees, or have some one hold it down for you
if there are others in the party, and place the drill so that it
stands upright with its rounded end in the cup. Rotate the
drill back and forth between the palms of your hands, exerting
a strong downward pressure. The speed should be increased
to the maximum as the hands reach the bottom of the stick.
Because of the downward pressure the hands tend to work
down the drill. When they are several inches above the hearth
quickly grasp the drill with the fingers of the left hand to hold
it firmly in position and grip the upper end between the thumb
and finger of the right hand, shift the left hand quickly to the
top opposite the other hand with the fingers extended so that
you can turn the right hand downward, grasping the drill
between the palms, and begin again the rotation movement.
At no time should the end of the drill be permitted to slip
from the cup. The stoppage of the drilling during the shifting
of the hands should be as short as possible. As the drilling
continues wood dust works into the slot and as it gets hotter
and hotter, smoke appears and eventually a glowing ember
which should be transferred to tinder. If you want to be
more certain of catching the hot spark the tinder may be
placed around the cup in the hearth at the start. When a
bow is used with the drill the process is much simpler and
more effective. With the latter, a block of wood is used at
the upper end to hold the drill in place in the hearth and the
drill, which may be shorter than that used between the palms
of the hands, is rapidly rotated back and forth by means of
a string wrapped once around it and fastened to the ends of
TROPICAL FORESTS
71
a flexible stick like a bow used to shoot arrows (Fig. 15). The
string from your shoes will do in making such a bow if you have
no other cord. For the use of flint see firemaking in the
Arctic, p. 136.
Much easier, of course, is a burning glass if you have one and
are where you can get enough sun to use it. In the absence of
a regular glass, which is an excellent thing to carry in your
pocket, a suitable substitute can be made if two of the members
of the party have watches with crystals of approximately the
same size. Take the two crystals, place them back to back and
fill the space between with water. This will focus the sun to a
point sharp enough to start a blaze.
Once you get a fire the best thing to do, as far as future needs
are concerned, is to follow the example of the natives and carry
it with you from place to place. This is done by using a fire
stick, a piece of dry, fibrous, soft wood that smolders like punk
and can be blown into flame whenever needed. The dry husks
from a coconut make good material for this purpose.
FOREST DANGERS
The creatures that are most dangerous to man are small and
inconspicuous for the most part and belong to the insect world.
Mosquitoes generally are the most prevalent kind of noxious
insect and in many cases are the carriers of yellow fever and
malaria. You don’t have to worry about yellow fever, as you
have been inoculated against it, but there is no such protection
against malaria. Hence you should guard against mosquito
bites as much as possible. Since mosquitoes fly only in the
evening and at night, the best way to escape infection is to get
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SURVIVAL OK LAKD AKD SEA
under a net as soon as possible after sunset. This, of course, is
not always possible, particularly if you have lost part of your
equipment and have no nets. Under such conditions one should
cover all exposed parts of the body as far as possible and build
a smudge of heavy smoke to help drive off the mosquitoes. If
you have salvaged your first-aid kit and are fortunate enough
to have atabrine in it, take it. Take 0.1 gm. (1 y2 grains) just
before dinner six days a week. If your first-aid kit contains
quinine instead of atabrine take 0.6 gm. (10 grains) each day
after the evening meal.
Seldom seen but often felt are the mites, commonly called red
bugs, bicha colorada, coloradilla, bete rouge, jiggers or chiggers
( although they are not true chiggers ) that are widely distributed
in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia, Japan, and the East
Indies. They are bright red in color but are so small that they
are scarcely visible without a magnifying glass. Their bites
do not start to itch for several hours, but once they begin, the
itching lasts for several days. It can be helped temporarily
by painting the bites with iodine, proflavine, zephiran, or what-
ever agent you may have. As far as you are able to avoid it,
don’t scratch dhese places as you are likely to break the skin
and start an infection that will produce an ulcer which is ex-
tremely difficult to heal even when frequently and carefully
dressed. This holds true for any kind of bug bite. One common
rule in the tropics is, If you must scratch , keep your fingernails
cut short . The only sure protection against these mites is to
avoid going into long grass or other bushy vegetation—a thing
practically impossible to do if you are trying to work your way
out of a jungle — to dust finely powdered sulphur (if you have
it) over your skin and into your underclothing and socks, to use
TROPICAL FORESTS
73
the G. I. insecticide powder or coconut oil, to tie the bottoms of
your trousers around your shoe tops, and after exposure to
sponge yourself off with alcohol or some disinfectant not too
irritating to the skin. A plain bath with soap helps if it is
taken soon after you have been in the bush. The use of alcohol
or similar solutions probably would depend on your arriving
at a properly equipped base within a short time after exposure.
The true chigger, which is abundant in the American tropics
and in parts of West Africa and India, is a small kind of flea.
In addition to a fondness for men this flea also attacks animals,
both tame and wild, and has a particular affinity for pigs.
Hence it is likely to be present around any native habitations
in those areas where it is common and where pigs are a part
of the domestic scene. Chiggers bite like other fleas, but the
female has the further unpleasant habit of burrowing into the
skin, usually of the feet under the toenails, where in the course
of a few days it swells to the size of a small pea and can be
recognized as a whitish spot with a dark brown spot in the
center. Prompt removal with a sterile needle or knife point
(one that has been held in the flame of a match) is advised, as
neglect may result in poisoning the whole system. As soon
as you have removed the chigger, paint the place with iodine and
cover with a protective dressing.
In the American tropics you may be bothered by wood ticks.
They are small, dark red or brown and may be numerous in
vegetation. They feed by burying the head and sucking blood.
As a rule they do not take hold for several hours after getting
on you and by carefully looking yourself over from time to time
you can see and pick them off before they bite. You can remove
them between your thumb and the point of a knife pressed
74
SURVIVAL O N LAND AND SEA
against the skin. If they have taken hold yon may have to dig
them out. Be sure to sterilize your needle or knife point before
doing so and paint with iodine afterwards. In Asia, China, and
the East Indies there are ticks of a different variety that in-
habit the crevices in the mud walls of native huts and rest-
houses. These should be avoided, as they carry a form of
fever. Staying out of native huts is a good way to keep from
getting them on you.
There are various kinds of scorpions and centipedes and they
are common in most tropical countries. Their sting is painful
but rarely is there any serious consequence if the bite does
not become infected. Spider bites may cause local pain and
swelling, yet they rarely have serious results. Wasps and
bees may be abundant in some places but they seldom attack
unless their nests are interfered with. In the case of stings,
mud packs are very helpful in obtaining relief. In some areas
there are tiny bees, called sweat bees, that may collect on
exposed parts of the body in enormous numbers during dry
weather, especially if one is perspiring profusely. They are
stingless and, until one has stopped sweating, the only thing
to do is to scrape them off with the hand. Ants are a possible
source of danger to men lying on the ground, especially if they
are injured and unable to move. Hence care should be taken
to place such persons away from ant hills or nests.
In some localities, particularly in the southeastern Asiatic
area, certain butterflies collect to gather perspiration from the
human body in dry weather. They are somewhat annoying,
but quite harmless. The rice-borer moth in Indo-Chinese coun-
tries during certain seasons of the year is attracted to lights
and flres. It is a small, plain-colored moth with a pair of
TROPICAL FORESTS
75
tiny black spots on the wings. It should never be brushed
off roughly as the minutely-barbed hairs of its body may be
ground into the skin causing a sore much like a burn that
often takes weeks to heal.
Land leeches are common in the Asiatic tropics. They are
not poisonous in themselves, yet their bites may become in-
fected and if not properly cared for lead to tropical ulcers or
“jungle sores.” One should watch for leeches on the body and
brush them off before they have had time to bite. When they
have taken hold they should not be pulled off forcibly. They
can be made to release themselves and drop off by putting salt
on them, by touching them with a moist cud of tobacco (this
is especially effective if red pepper is mixed with the tobacco),
by touching them lightly with the burning end of a cigarette
or a coal from the fire, or by dropping some alcohol on them.
Leeches try to reach mucous membranes and frequently enter
the rectum or crawl up inside the penis without attracting
attention until an itching sensation begins. Urination usually
removes them immediately from the penis, but medical help
may be needed to remove one from the rectum. After being
satiated, however, leeches frequently leave the rectum with
an evacuation. This produces a certain amount of blood flow
that may be mistaken for beginning dysentery, but its short
duration will remove fears on that score.
Snakes and Crocodiles
The thought of snakes usually is uppermost in the minds of
most people at the mention of the word “jungle.” There is no
need to be unduly concerned about them, however, as you may
76
SURVIVAL OK LAKD AND SEA
go for months without seeing a snake even in areas where they
may be abundant. If you do see one it will probably be a
fleeting glimpse as the snake will be making every effort to get
away from you and disappear in the vegetation. Your chances
of being bitten by one are about on a par with those of being
struck by lightning. That does not mean that you should be
careless of the possibility of snake bites, but ordinary precau-
tions against them are sufficient. Just be particularly watchful
when clearing ground for a camp site, trail, or the like, and when
roaming in the bush gathering fire wood. Many snakes are non-
venomous, but the safest plan is to leave them all alone. If
you should happen to be bitten don’t worry over what kind of
a snake it was but go ahead and treat the bite as though it
were from a venomous variety.
There are three steps that should be taken. (1) Immediately
apply a tourniquet above the wound, that is, between the bite
and the heart. Kelease the pressure for 5 or 10 seconds out of
every 10 or 15 minutes so as not to stop circulation completely.
(2) Make 4 or 5 parallel incisions, each about 2 inches long, as
close to the snake bite wound as possible, and extending through
the skin and fat and into the muscle. These cuts should be
made with a razor, a razor blade or sharp knife, and should
run lengthwise rather than across the limb. If the incisions
are boldly made, bleeding and seepage of serum will be
free and much of the venom will thus be eliminated. Do not
place permanganate crystals in the wound . (3) Keep quiet;
take hot fluids such as tea and coffee if available. Do not take
alcohol or morphine. Have your comrades get you to a doctor
as quickly as possible.
TROPICAL FORESTS
77
In some areas there are crocodiles in the streams. They can
be avoided by not going into the water, or, when it is necessary
to cross larger rivers, by doing so on improvised rafts. Authen-
tic cases of crocodiles attacking human beings are practically
impossible to find, so you don’t need to worry over that. If
you should approach or attempt to kill one along the shore,
however, be careful of the sweep of its tail. They can move
very swiftly, and the powerful tail is strong enough to break a
man’s leg.
Some of the South American streams have fish called caribe,
palometa, or piranha that will attack men or animals entering
the water and inflict dangerous wounds. They are infuri-
ated by blood or sores but often do not attack persons without
these conditions. They, too, can be avoided by staying out of
streams where natives say they occur and by crossing on rafts.
Blood Worms
It is advisable to stay out of fresh water, as far as possible, in
certain areas because the lakes, rivers, streams, swamps, ponds,
irrigation ditches, and flooded rice fields may contain the young
forms of various blood-worms or flukes. They may enter the
body through the skin of bathers or persons wading in such
waters, or through contaminated drinking water that has not
been boiled or sufficiently treated with chlorine. The young
forms of these flukes are harbored by certain kinds of fresh-
water snails. When they leave the snail and are discharged into
the water they die within 48 hours unless another suitable vic-
tim is found. Hence water that has been stored in a container
that is free of snails will be safe for washing and bathing in from
570603° — 44 Q
7-8
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SKA
48 to 72 hours, but it will not be safe to drink unless boiled or
chlorinated. The danger areas for these flukes are : The
northern and western coastal areas of Africa, the Belgian Congo,
French Equatorial Africa from Spanish Guinea south, the Gold
and Ivory Coasts, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and north to Gambia,
southern Spain, Palestine, and Syria, the northern half of the
Arabian Red Sea coast, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Reunion
islands, China, Japan, Celebes, the islands of Hainan, Formosa,
and the Philippines, all of Ecuador and a portion of northern
Peru, the northern coast of South America and down the east
coast to below Rio de Janeiro, and the Caribbean islands. The
waters of Puerto Rico are particularly bad in this respect and
should be avoided.
VI
FOOD IN THE TROPICS
ANIMALS, BIRDS, ETC.
The matter of food is one that will be extremely important.
If, as previously suggested, you have made contact with the
natives you will have little to worry about. However, it may
be some time before you come to a settlement or meet up with
any of the local inhabitants, and in that case you may be forced
to make out the best that you can. It may not be pleasant to
contemplate, but in an emergency you will find that many un-
conventional creatures are edible and are, as a matter of fact,
eaten by the people of the country. Among them are lizards
and snakes. The meat from the hind quarters and tail of the
lizard is the be'st. It is somewhat dry and stringy but is very
much like the white meat from chicken. No lizard is poisonous,
except the North American Gila monster and the beaded lizard
of Mexico, although the larger ones have good biting teeth and
a person should take care not to be bitten by them. All snakes
are edible, but they are not found as frequently as might be
expected. They also taste much like the white meat of chicken,
although the flesh may be a bit stringy and slightly salty flavored.
In using snakes be sure that the head is cut off immediately. It
is dangerous to hold some species by the back of the head as they
have the ability to throw their jaws out of joint and reach around
79
80
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
to the hand. With both snakes and lizards, you skin, remove
the viscera, and cook like any other meat.
All birds are edible, but some are not desirable. Carrion-
eating birds, such as vultures should be used only in cases of
last resort. They are in no way harmful, yet their usual source
of food is such that it imparts an unpleasant taste to the flesh.
This is often true of fish-eating birds. They are likely to have
a definitely fishy flavor. Some birds, particularly parrots and
hawks, are likely to be tough, but they can be stewed and used
for soup. All birds’ eggs are good for food, although some may
be more palatable than others. If you want to be certain of
fresh eggs remove all but one from the nest and take the fresh
ones as they are laid. Along the shores and particularly on
the smaller islands where birds lay their eggs in great numbers
a section of previously laid eggs can be cleared, the area marked,
and those left there subsequently gathered and used.
Animal life differs in its distribution. In some areas there is
considerable variety and individuals are fairly numerous. Other
places have only a few forms and not many of each. Too much
reliance should not be placed on animals as a source of food
because they are difficult to find and probably will be hard to
kill with the equipment at hand. If you have a rifle or a
revolver you may be able to shoot enough to keep going, but
often it may not be desirable to use firearms. Most of the
smaller animals can be killed with clubs, may be trapped by
making noose snares, constructing deadfalls of logs, or by digging
pits and covering them with light branches, twigs, and leaves.
Natives generally thrust sharpened split-bamboo or other sticks
in the bottom of such pits to impale the animals when they fall
into the hole. Such pits, of course, are placed in game trails.
FOOD TN THE TROPICS
81
All animals are good to eat ; the flavor of some may not be all
that you would desire but they are edible. Monkeys are good if
you can shoot or catch them.
Should you be fortunate enough to get a sizable animal and
have more meat than you can use at one time, the extra may
be preserved for future use by drying. One method of making
this jerked meat is to cut the flesh into long, thin strips not more
than an inch in width and a half an inch in thickness. Soak
these strips in brine, if salt is available to make it, an hour or
two. String the strips of salt-soaked meat on the limb from a
small tree and hang over a smoking fire until thoroughly dry.
Where sea water or salt is not available the meat can be dried
by exposure to the sun. Under such conditions the strips may
be tied to long cords and thrown over a branch or some other
high support, such as a line tied between two trees, where they
will receive the full sun. The higher they are from the ground
the less danger there is that the meat will become fly-blown
before it is cured. If it is not convenient to hang the meat, it
is possible to dry it on flat rocks or hot sand. In such cases,
however, it must be turned from time to time so as to cure
evenly and must be protected from flies, ants, and other insects.
There are other living things that also may be used as food.
The white grubs of the palm weevils and other wood-infesting
beetles are highly prized by many native people. Their larvae,
often as big as your thumb, are found in rotting wood and
around freshly cut places on palm trees. Sfclit and broiled over
the coals of a fire, they are quite palatable and have a flavor
somewhat like that of oysters. Natives rarely bother to cook
them, preferring to pop them into their mouths as they find
them. Large grasshoppers and cicadas with the legs and wings
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
'82
removed may be toasted on the end of a stick. The pupae or
eggs of ants are edible but are difficult to collect in quantity.
Winged termites, which migrate in great numbers during the
rains, are also edible when the wings have been removed.
There are two main kinds of shrimps, often called crawfish,
and a host of smaller varieties averaging about an inch in length.
They can be caught in various ways. Along the larger streams
in the shallow places near the shore, where water is nearly
stagnant, masses of small shrimps may be found swimming
about and be taken with hand nets; if you don’t have one you
can make one that will do by fashioning a hoop from a shoot or
small branch and interlacing strips of leaves or fibers to make
the mesh. Best results are obtained by people working in pairs
and standing in the water. One drives the hosts of shrimps
towards the other* who dips them out with the net. In some
areas the natives will dam a shallow narrow stream making a
fairly watertight barrier of branches, sticks, large leaves, mud,
and sand. As the section downstream runs dry, the shrimps
stranded there or hiding among and beneath rotten pieces of
wood, branches, leaves, in the crevices between the rocks, and
among roots or other debris are collected. Fish and crabs are
often obtained in the same manner at the same time. The best
yield, however, comes from the bailing dry of many pools and
puddles still remaining in the bottom of the stream bed. With
larger pools build a mud dam across and scoop the water with
your hands, if you have nothing else, out of one side until you
can catch the shrimp or fish found in it. Then scoop the water
back from the other side and get the rest of them. Anything that
can be picked up to serve as a scoop is used to dip out the pools,
or small dip nets are made on the spot for the purpose. Where
FOOD IN THE TROPICS
bushes grow along the edge of a stream and the branches droop
down so that some of the twigs and leaves are in the water,
large catches are sometimes made by lifting the branches out
of the water and catching the shrimps as they drop off the
leaves. This produces better results if it is done at night as the
shrimps seem to leave the bushes during the day when they are
more active. All land crabs, freshwater crabs, freshwater fish,
and shrimps should be cooked before eating .
Shrimps are usually cooked by boiling. In the larger forms
only the abdomen, the tail end, minus its shell, is eaten. The shell
is easily removed after cooking. The small forms make good
soups or stews when cooked whole, but if they form too great
a part of the diet and are eaten continually over a period of
time the shells may produce diarrhea. This can be avoided
by straining the soups or stews before eating or by adding some
other bulky food substance to it. Land and fresh-water crabs
are cooked in the same way as the salt-water forms. See p. 42.
FOOD PLANTS IN THE TROPICS
Plants are one of the main sources of food in the tropics. The
natives eat many wild and cultivated plants that are unknown
to white men not familiar with the different areas where they
grow. It is not possible to name and describe all of the forms
suitable for emergency or general use but a few of the more
common and obvious ones, those readily identified, are discussed
in the following pages. One rule that can be relied upon is that
whatever the monkeys eat is safe for human beings. Monkeys are
not present everywhere, although they do occur in many of the
places where you may go. Birds are more widely distributed but
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they are not a safe guide as they will occasionally feed on things
harmful to man.
Food plants are more abundant in some localities than others
and your chances of finding them vary according to the nature
of the place where you are forced to look for them. Seashores,
abandoned clearings, margins of streams, and swamps are more
likely places than deep tropical jungles or mountain tops. The
best places to find food plants, of course, are those where men
are or have been growing them. In cultivated regions you can
depend upon the natives for food, if you have made the proper
contacts in the manner already described in the discussion of
natives (chapter IV, p. 53). Where there are no natives you
will have to fall back on your own resourcefulness.
Plants Along Seashores
In many cases the need for emergency food plants may arise
along a seashore. As a general rule such places are better
supplied in that respect than other locations. This is in part
because of the fact that in less civilized regions the people tend
to live near the sea and as a consequence there are numerous
cultivated plants, although they actually may not longer be
cared for, as well as various wild forms. Many of the sandy,
tropical shores have plants which are found all over the world.
Coconuts and other palms (Fig. 16) characteristically line many
tropical coasts. The many uses of the coconut have already been
described in the section on Island Survival (p. 31), and need
not be repeated. Other kinds of palms are also a valuable source
of food. The tender growing tips, usually found at the tops of
the stems in the bases of the leaves, may be cut out and eaten
FOOD IK THE TROPICS
85
Figure 17.- — Sago palm. See p. 87.
FOOD IN THE TROPICS
raw or roasted. These are what are commonly called palm
4 ‘cabbages” (Fig. 17). To get at them' you may have to use the
“climbing bandage” described in connection with obtaining coco-
nuts. You may find that some of these “cabbages” are too bitter
to be eaten, but none of them is harmful. The tender, unopened
flower clusters of palms may also be eaten and the immature
seeds of the fruits of some forms are edible, although you will
find most of them unpalatable. The juice which drips from the
cut end of the flower or fruit cluster, or from the end of a small
branch or from a gash in the trunk, will quench thirst if caught
and drunk immediately. When permitted, it ferments.
Several of the Old World palms, particularly the Sago (fig. 17) ,
have a pithy center that contains starch which can be extracted
for use as a substitute for rice or for the making of pastries.
The process for obtaining this material is so involved, however,
that one should depend on the natives for it or, if possible, have
the natives show you how to prepare it. None of the New World
palms provides this starch.
Another tree commonly found is the screw pine or pandanus
(Fig. 9). It is easily recognized by its stilt-like roots and the
spiral arrangement of its long leaves. It has a large fruit di-
vided into sections like a pineapple. These sections are cov-
ered with a hard husk that encloses the fleshy, edible pulp
and the seeds. The seeds may be roasted and eaten like
chestnuts; the fleshy portion may be boiled or baked. Boiling
is better for the young fruits, baking for the mature ones.
In some cases the natives strip off the outer rind with the seeds
and then pound the flesh of the fruits into a dust resembling
snuff. This dust is exposed to the sun until a sweet juice exudes
making the whole mass sticky. This mass is then rolled and
88
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
Figure 18. — Breadfruit, A. seedless, B. type with seeds. See p. 89
FOOD IN THE TROPICS
89
patted into broad flat cakes which are rolled up and tightly
wrapped and tied in dry leaves. In this fashion the food may
be kept for some time. Remember that water also can be ob-
tained by tapping the tops of the roots of the screw pine.
The breadfruit tree (Fig. 18), commonly planted by the Pacific
islanders and in tropical America, also may be found along or
near the shore. The tree attains a moderate height, and has
large glossy leaves. The fruit is attached to the small branches
by a short thick stalk and hangs either singly or in clusters of
two or three together. It is oval or spheroid in shape, is ap-
proximately 6 inches in diameter, and has a rind with a warty
surface. There are many different varieties ripening at dif-
ferent times of year providing an almost constant supply. The
fruit usually is baked in hot embers, in pits filled with hot rocks
and covered with palm leaves, or is boiled or cut into slices and
fried like potatoes. Sometimes the natives cook the fruit and
cut it into slices, dry them in the sun or in an oven, and keep
them for future use. They can be eaten without further prep-
aration, may be toasted, or be ground up and cooked in vari-
ous ways with other substances.
Throughout Polynesia and to some extent in Malaysia is a
small or medium-sized tree growing from 8 to 10 or up to 20
feet in height called the Polynesian chestnut (Fig. 19). It grows
especially along the shores and bears pods which contain a single
large seed that provides excellent food when boiled or roasted.
It is even better than the chestnuts which we formerly obtained
from Italy. It is necessary to boil or roast the nuts to remove
the tannin which they contain. There are other trees similar
to chestnuts with fruits varying from those with a hull as spiny
as that of n chestnut to those with a hull that is merely rough
90 SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
FOOD IN THE TROPICS
91
like that of a walnut. The nuts are obtained by breaking open
this outer covering. In all cases they should be boiled or roasted.
Vines bearing edible fruits occur along many shores. In-
cluded in these are forms of the grape, gourd, and melon. One
common example is the strainer vine which bears elongated
green fruits that are edible when half ripe provided they
are cooked. The tender shoots, leaves, and flowers of this vine
also are edible. The so-called balsam vine has rough, yellow
fruits about 6 inches long of varying form and with reddish
pulp that may be eaten.
The purslane, previously mentioned as a source of moisture
in the discussion of water on Islands (p. 33), is also edible in
the form of greens.
Another plant found on or near the shore is the Polynesian
arrowroot (Fig. 20), which has a potato-like underground tuber
that can be eaten after it has been boiled or roasted but which
must not be consumed in its raw state as it contains poisonous
elements that are destroyed by cooking.
If you have the misfortune to land along a shore bordered
by mangrove swamps do not waste your time trying to fight
your way through or looking for food in them. Try and work
your way along the coast to a better beach or more open type
of vegetation. In some cases a few screw pines may be found
growing in such swamps and there are ferns that may be eaten
as greens, but otherwise mangrove swamps have little plant
food. Of course, if you find yourself in such a place make the
best of it and try to get to the coast as quickly as possible.
92
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
Figure 20. — Polynesian arrowroot ; must be cooked. See p. 93U
FOOD IN THE TROPICS
98
Clearings and Abandoned Fields
0
These are the best places to find food plants because they
generally have been cultivated at some time or other and culti-
vated forms of plants will persist long after fields have been
abandoned. These places may occur along the shore or be found
in the interior of the country. Nearly all of the fruits found
there can be eaten. It is not possible or practicable to list all
that you might find under such circumstances but there usually
will be bananas and plantains. Ripe bananas are rarely found
because the birds, bats, insects, and other creatures usually
get to them first, but the green ones are edible when cooked.
They may be boiled, fried, or roasted. Of course, you can pick
a green bunch and let the fruit ripen but that takes time. The
plantains, which you probably can’t tell from bananas and it
doesn’t really matter anyway, are generally dark green, brown,
or orange in color and will seem like green bananas. They
should always be cooked. The flower buds and the tender
growing tip at the upper end of the stem of these trees are also
edible. Ripe bananas may be preserved by slicing them and
then drying the pieces in the sun.
The papaya (Fig. 21) also occurs around clearings and former
habitations in the tropics. This is a tree-like plant growing up
to 20 feet in height with a single stem and a tuft of long-stalked
leaves at the top. On the stem below or among the leaves grow
large melon-like fruits resembling elongated cantaloupes or musk-
melons. The fruits are green before ripening. On reaching
maturity they become yellowish green or yellow and squash-like.
The flesh is pepsin flavored and truly delicious. The milky juice
of the unripe fruits contains a substance that is an aid to diges-
4 570603°: — 14 7
94
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
'Figure 21. — Papaya. Small tree. See p. 93.
FOOD IN THE TROPICS
95
tion and if rubbed onto a piece of tough meat it has the property
of making it tender. If this milky juice oozes from the rind
when it is cut the fruit is not ripe enough to eat. The juice
should not be allowed to remain on the skin, because it will
set up an irritation. Green fruit may be placed in the sun where
it will ripen in a very short time. Do not attempt to climb
a papaya as the wood in it is so brittle that it is liable to snap
under a man’s weight. The trunk can be severed by a single
blow from a machete. You should be careful not to get any of
the milky sap, either from the stem or the rind of the fruit, into
your eyes as it will cause intense pain and temporary, sometimes
even permanent, blindness. The flower, leaf steams, and young
leaves may be eaten cooked as greens provided you cook them
in several changes of water to remove the bitter taste and harm-
ful substance from the sap.
Mango trees are often found in abandoned clearings and
around deserted village sites in the East Indies and southern
Asia. The delicious fruit that they bear is somewhat larger
than a baseball. It is elliptic or round and somewhat flattened
in shape (Fig. 22). The leathery rind, yellow or greenish in
color and somewhat spotted, encloses the edible pulp that clings
closely around a i single, large, and flattened seed. The fruits
ripen from early summer through early autumn.
A common tree found on abandoned plantations in South
America, as well as in the Pacific area, is the cashew (Fig. 23),
the nuts of which are popular in the United States. The
nuts are not edible until boiled or roasted, and all of the oil
must be heated out of them before they are eaten. When
boiling or roasting, avoid the steam or smoke as it is very
caustic. The greatly swollen base, reddish or yellowish in
96 SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
Figure 22. — Mango. Medium to large tree. Cultivated or wild.
See p. 95.
FOOD IN THE TROPICS
97
Figure 23. — Cashew ; nuts must be cooked. See p, 95.
Figure 24. — Bamboo sprouts. Slit covering of husks lengthwise, remove
tender center. See p. 99.
FOOD IK THE TROPICS
99
color, on which the nnt grows, however, is juicy and refreshing
when fresh.
Bamboo and sugarcane are commonly present in formerly
occupied areas. Young bamboo sprouts (Fig. 24), up to a foot
or so in height, are stored with food substances and can either
be eaten raw or be cooked by boiling. Sugarcane (Fig. 25)
Figure 25. — Sugarcane.
100
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
roughly resembles corn with reddish stems, has its leaves near
the top and has no “ears.” The outer layer of the stems may
be peeled off and the inside pith chewed to get the refreshing
and nourishing sweet sap.
A coarse grass found in clearings, abandoned fields, and forest
borders in Polynesia and Malaysia has seeds that may be boiled
or roasted. The hearts from the young shoots of this grass may
also be eaten.
Vegetables are also found in these locations. They include
the taro, sweet potatoes, yams and in tropical America wild
tomatoes. The taro (Pig. 26) grows to a height of 2 or 3
feet, has large heartshaped leaves and yellowish-green flowers.
All parts of the plant may be eaten, but its roots are the main
source of food and they are used throughout the Pacific Island
area. The root is naturally bitter or pungent in taste; yet
after roasting or boiling it is perfectly wholesome. After
cooking the roots the natives usually peel them, pound them
into a powder, then gradually add water, kneading the mass
as they proceed, until it attains a dough-like consistency. It
is then wrapped in leaves and eaten at will.
Sweet potatoes are easily recognized as they look like morn-
ing glory vines. When in bloom the blossoms are pink. The
potatoes are better if cooked, although they may be eaten raw,
and the tops of the plants make good greens when boiled.
Many other morning-glory-like vines have edible shoots and
leaves and may have edible roots. None is poisonous. Yams
have climbing vines with a slender stem and simple leaves
resembling an open human hand. They have small, incon-
spicuous green flowers. Their tubers are usually long and
spindle shaped, some attaining a length of from 2 to 4 feet.
FOOD IN THE TROPICS
101
CULTIVATED ,
WET GROUND
GROUND
EDIBLE COOKED
Figure 26. — Taro, roots must be cooked. See p. 100.
102
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
They may be baked or boiled. In baking these tubers the
natives dig a pit, put in large hard rocks and build a fire.
When the rocks are hot the food is placed in the pit, on
green leaves, and the hole is covered with palm or other large
leaves. Earth is sometimes heaped over the leaves. After
half an hour or so, depending on the number of stones and
how thoroughly they were heated, the food is ready to eat.
Figure 27. — Cassava, or tapioca. See p. 103.
FOOD IN THE TROPICS
103
Another common vegetable is the cassava, manioc, or tapioca
(Fig. 27). The large roots of these plants should be used
with caution as there are two varieties, one sweet and the
other bitter. They can only be distinguished by taste. The
sweet form may be eaten raw but the bitter form is poisonous
unless it is cooked. The natives remove this poisonous sub-
stance by crushing the roots thoroughly, washing the starchy
mass with several changes of water, and then cooking it. If
you are in a region where you can learn how it should be
prepared, do so, as the knowledge might prove helpful later on.
Peanuts may often be found in clearings as they are culti-
vated in many tropical and semitropical areas by the natives.
The fruits are borne below the surface of the ground and
their seeds are very nourishing. They may be eaten raw or
cooked. Pineapples also occur in abandoned fields.
Many common temperate zone breeds are found in clearings in
the tropics. They also are edible. Among these is the purslane
previously mentioned (p. 91) and the pokeweed (Fig. 28). The
tender, young shoots of the latter may be cooked as greens. The
roots, however, are definitely poisonous. The ground cherry or
Chinese lantern plant (Fig. 29) has escaped from cultivation
and become a weed almost throughout the tropics. Its bladdery
pods contain a single red tomato-like fruit that is edible.
Raspberries, blackberries, and mulberries are sometimes found
at higher elevations. They look sufficiently like the forms you
are familiar with at home to be recognized. All are edible or at
least harmless. Some of them may be too seedy to be palatable,
but they won’t hurt you.
104
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
LARGE.WEED OP
TROPICAL
REGIONS.
FLOWER,
SMALL.
THRU
FRUIT
SEEDS
PURPLISH, JUICY PULP
BITTER BUT HARMLESS
Figure 28.- — Pokeweed. Tender shoots eaten as greens. Root
poisonous. See p. 103.
105
FOOD IN THE TROPICS
Open Grassland, Thin Woods, and Thickets
There are large areas in the tropics which are only sparsely
covered with vegetation consisting for the most part of grasses
and a few scattered trees. Some of these areas are the result
of the destruction of the original vegetation by cultivation or by
fires. They are often quite dry. Various grasses are found in
these open spaces and as there are no poisonous grasses any
that are found may be eaten without danger. In fact, most of
man’s cultivated food comes from grasses such as wheat, rye,
corn, sugarcane, etc. Heal grasses can be recognized by their
jointed stems, such as in a cornstalk, and by their character-
istic flowers which are never conspicuously colored. Because
their seeds fall off readily after ripening they are generally
difficult to gather. Also their seeds usually need to be ground
into some kind of flour and cooked before being eaten. One
form of grass, however, has fairly large, usually white and shiny,
beadlike “fruits” called Job’s Tears. These contain several seeds
that can be eaten either boiled or roasted. This plant is some-
times cultivated.
A small tree — up to 20 feet in height — that grows in open and
waste places, as well as in cultivated fields, in the Old World is
the horseradish tree (Fig. 30). The leaves, shoots, and young
pods of this tree may be eaten raw, or when cooked as greens.
The seeds may be roasted. The roots of the tree taste like
horseradish.
River and Stream Margins
Because of their variability, tropical streams are bordered by
a large number of potential food plants. In the Far East the
106
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
Figure 29. — Chinese lantern, or ground cherry ; 2 to 3 feet high.
See p. 103.
FOOD IN THE TROPICS
107
Figure 30. — Horseradish tree. See p. 105.
lotus and various water lilies (Fig. 31) and other plants with
large, fleshy, edible roots are often found growing in water.
Floating on the surface may be the water hyacinth, a plant that
108
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
is about one foot in height and has blue flowers and inflated
leaf stems. The young leaves, leafy stalks, and the flowering
parts may be eaten in an emergency, either steamed or boiled.
In the soft mud along the banks of streams, along the edges
of ditches, and also in abandoned rice fields, is a plant called
the arrowhead, which has an underground stem or tuber that
is edible when cooked. Other water plants also grow in such
places and all parts of them can be eaten when cooked as
greens. Ferns growing in such places also may be used as
food. The young shoots are better and may be eaten raw or
when cooked as greens. (See fig. 32.) Of course, many of the
trees and other forms of plants already described, bamboos,
bananas, palms, etc. may be found along the streams as well as
in the other locations mentioned.
Rice sometimes escapes from cultivation and may be found
growing wild along the banks of streams and ditches.
Swamps
Swamps often occur along rivers and smaller streams, as
well as along the coasts, and some food plants are to be found
there. Edible ferns occur in fresh water swamps. The wild
form of the Chinese water chestnut (Fig. 33) is often found in
the open fresh- water swamps of the Old World. Its nearly
round, hard tubers are produced underground. They are ex-
cellent when boiled or roasted. Another plant that grows in
fresh-water swamps and swampy places more or less in the
open has very large leaves and stalks more or less covered
with short spines (Fig. 34). It has a large underground part
that is rich in starch, but it should be eaten only after it is
FOOD IN THE TROPICS
109
PINK FLOWER
WRAPPING MATERIAL
SEEDS
EDIBLE
6RFEN
Figure 31. — Lotus ; water lily lower right. See p. 107.
570603° — 44 — —8
110 SURVIVAL OK LAKD AND SEA
Figure 32. — Paco fern. See p. 108.
112 SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
thoroughly cooked, either by boiling or roasting. A vine re-
sembling the morning glory or the sweet potato frequently may
be found in fresh-water swamps and ponds. The stems and
young leaves of this plant make good greens when cooked.
Salt water or brackish swamps are very extensive in the
tropics along rivers near the sea and along the coasts. As
previously mentioned, relatively few kinds of edible plants are
to be found in such locations. The swamps along the rivers,
however, do have nipa palms — a tree that has no trunk, its
leaves rising in tufts around the “cabbage” just above the sur-
face of the swamp — -that produce dense clusters of erect fruits,
the immature seeds of which are edible. Nipa palm swamps
often occur on the inland side of mangrove swamps. A climb-
ing fern and a coarse tufted fern may be found in both kinds of
swamps. These ferns are edible.
Forests and Jungles
Edible plants are generally less abundant in deep forests and
jungles than in the locations discussed in the preceding pages.
Those that are present often bear their fruits and other edible
portions high out of reach. Palms are common but you may
have to climb to reach the “cabbage.” Tree ferns with tender,
coiled, young leaves and edible terminal buds may be found.
The climbing palms or rattans (Pig. 14) have edible terminal
shoots, although they may be high in the tree tops.
The Durian (Fig. 35) is a large forest tree that bears excellent
fruits about the size of a coconut. They are readily recognized
by their odor which is very strong and fetid, and has been #
likened to that coming from decayed onions. The fruit is round
FOOD IN THE TROPICS
113
Figure 34. — Palau ; root must be cooked. See p. 108.
114
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
Figure 35. — Durian fruit, found on a large, tropical-forest tree.
See p. 112.
FOOD IN THE TROPICS
115
or slightly oval, green in color, and is covered with short, stout,
sharp spines that make it difficult to pick up if the stem is
broken oft. The outer rind is so thick and tough that it never
breaks when it falls. It can be opened with a heavy knife by
cutting along the five grooves which run from end to end beneath
the spines. The cream-colored yellow pulp surrounding the few
seeds is best when the fruits first fall from the tree. It is eaten
raw, especially when ripe, but when unripe may be cooked as a
vegetable. Despite its foul odor, the fruit is very nourishing.
These trees can often be located by following the odor radiated
in all directions from the fruit lying on the ground. The seeds
from the fruit may be roasted and eaten like nuts. Because
the fruits are so large and so covered with spines they might
kill a man if they fell on him. Consequently one should not
lie under a durian tree.
There are many kinds of fig trees, shrubs, or vines in jungles.
They are recognizable by their milky juice and fig-like fruits.
These fruits are generally smaller than domestic dried figs.
They usually are round with a more or less hollow center con-
taining numerous small “seeds” and a small opening at the end.
This opening may be pressed shut when the fruit is ripe. Most
of these fruits contain small insects but they are edible unless
decayed. When infested with insect larvae it probably would
be better to boil them before eating. There are other forest
trees with edible fruits but they are difficult to identify even
if they can be reached. The fruit can be tested by eating a
small sample and then waiting some hours to see if harmful
results develop before trying larger amounts. If it tastes
bitter or produces a burning sensation in the mouth don’t eat it
116
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
Particular Regions
Most of the information in preceding pages applies more spe-
cifically to Polynesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines than to other
areas. Over so vast an area the various plants differ from place
to place, but nowhere is there any need to suffer from hunger if
a person will keep his eyes open and do a little experimenting.
In the mountains of New Guinea, Java, and the Philippines the
vegetation is less tropical than in other parts of the area, hence
the food plants will be less tropical in character. In these
regions, however, one can learn readily from the natives.
Throughout Siam and Indo-China, countries sometimes in-
cluded in Malaysia, there are the usual tropical plants and in
addition true spine-covered chestnuts, some oaks with edible
acorns, and a few wild apples and peaches. The common bracken
fern of temperate regions, with tender uncoiling edible leaves,
occurs there and the same kind of mulberries found in North
America are present. In addition there is a forest tree called
the longan (Fig. 36) which bears clusters of yellowish or yellow-
ish-brown, smooth fruits that are delicious. The Chinese lychee
or “China Nut” tree (Fig. 37) grows wild in the area. Wild rela-
tives of the orange and grapefruit are also found.
In tropical America there are many kinds of types of plants
similar to those in Malaysia. These include palms, figs, papayas,
bamboo, and bananas. Cashews abound along the roadsides and
in overgrown fields. Wild tomatoes with small edible . fruits
grow nearly everywhere. In northern South America the cow
or milk tree yields a drinkable sap when the bark is cut. The
cassava or tapioca is abundant but the bitter form is more
common and must be prepared as previously suggested
FOOD IN THE TROPICS
117
Figure 36. — Longan tree. Large cultivated or forest tree. See p. 116,
118
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
SMALL
FRUIT
TREES
CLUSTER
OF
FLOWERS &4**
FLOWERS
VERY
SMALL
FRUITS
RESEMBLE
STRAWBERRIES
WITH THIN
OUTER RSNDj
PULP EDIBLE.
Fig uks 37.- — Lychee, or “China Nut.” See p. 116.
FOOD IN THE TROPICS
119
before eating. In tlie drier places there are various kinds of
cactus plants. Their fruits and fleshy stem segments are edible
raw or cooked provided the numerous spines are carefully re-
moved. Some of the larger, rounder forms have stored water use-
ful in quenching thirst. The mango grows wild in Central Amer-
ica and parts of the West Indies and their fruits are available
from May to August or somewhat later.
In tropical Africa there are dense, lowland jungles and drier
plateaus with more open vegetation. The same types of plants,
although different forms, occur here as elsewhere in the tropics
and are prepared and eaten in about the same manner. There
is no lack of emergency food plants in that area.
POISONOUS PLANTS
There is no reason to fear the poisonous plants in the Tropics
any more than in temperate regions. The best general rule is to
avoid all those with a milky sap, with the exception of the
numerous varieties of the wild fig, and all those whose taste is
disagreeable, or that have brightly colored shiny seeds.
Poisonous plants fall into three general classes :
(1) those which poison a person internally when eaten;
(2) those with sap that irritates the skin in the manner of
poison ivy ;
(3) those with minute needles or spines that penetrate the
skin and cause irritation.
Identification of such plants by persons not familiar with
tropical vegetation is difficult. If one has an opportunity to do
so it is best to learn the various kinds that are to be avoided
from the natives. Otherwise just be careful about touching or
Figure 38. — Pliysic nut ; seeds poisonous to eat. See p. 122.
FOOD IN THE TROPICS 121
Figure 39. — Castor bean ; seeds poisonous to eat. Cannot be substituted
for castor oil. See p. 122.
122
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
grabbing plants at random. Testing unknown plants by small
samples usually will reveal the harmless ones without causing
serious injury.
Widespread throughout most of the Tropics are the physic nut
(Fig. 38) and the castor oil plant (Fig. 39). The seeds of both
are poisonous to eat and cooking will not make them harmless .
Strychnine comes from the seeds of an orange-like shrub (fig. 40)
that grows in both the New and Old World tropics. The fruit
may be eaten but not the seed. The fruit is so bitter, however,
that you probably wouldn’t eat it even if you found it.
Juices causing skin irritation are more common. Throughout
Malaysia are the rengas trees (Fig. 41). They are avoided by
the natives as carefully as we avoid poison ivy. The affliction
produced by the sap of these trees is similar to that produced
by poison ivy and the treatment for it is the same. A few of
the, wild or semi-wild forms of mango also have poisonous sap,
although the common mango does not, but the fruits from these
trees can be eaten with safety. In the New World tropics the
Mancineel or Manzanillo (Fig. 42), a small tree that occurs in
dense thickets along sea beaches, is avoided for the same reason.
The poisonous sandbox tree (Fig. 43) occurs at low altitudes
throughout most of tropical America. It is a small tree with
short, sharp grater-like spines and a melon-like fruit. A com-
mon American plant with a poisonous milky sap is the Dumb
Cane (Fig. 44) which is found in low ground and on moist hills.
Its soft juicy stems are as large as a man’s arm and have a
skunk-like odor when cut. Smoke and steam from the burning
wood or leaves of any of these plants is dangerous and is as
likely to affect the skin as the actual sap or juice.
FOOD IN THE TROPICS
123
SEED
SEED. SIDE
AMD EDGE
VIEWS.
TREES.SHRUBS
OR VINES.
FRUITS LIKE
SMALL ORANGES
SHELL-LIKE RIND
Figdke 40. — Strychnine ; seeds poisonous to eat. See p. 122.
124
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
Figure 41. — Rengas tree ; poisonous to touch. See p. 122,
FOOD m THE TROPICS
m
If you get the juice from any of these plants on your skin, wash
it off as quickly as possible, gently but thoroughly, with soap
and warm water. Thereafter wash the affected part as seldom
as possible and apply vaseline or olive oil twice daily and keep
570603° — 44 9
126
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
/<3av€3
q rows os a /nz<g
/QOfezt high
Jeecf
^ rOnf & ,5/c/e wifiv
d// f>47/7^s'
Figure 43. — -Sandbox tree ; sap poisonous to skin. See p. 122.
FOOD m THE TROPICS
128
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
Figure 45. — Various forms of cowhage, dangerous to touch. All
temporarily irritating. See p. 130.
FOOD IN THE TROPICS 129
Figure 46. — Nettle tree, dangerous to touch. See p. 130,
130
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
the place covered with a thin layer of cloth. Care should be
taken not to infect such places, as ulcers may result.
The third group comprises the nettles and plants with stinging-
hairs on their flowers and fruits. An examble of the latter is
the cowhage (Fig. 45) that occurs in most tropical areas growing
as a vine in thickets and wooded districts but not in the jungles.
The stinging nettles are widespread but are little worse than
those in temperate climates. There are nettle trees (Fig. 46)
that are found in thickets, clearing and open woods. They
should be avoided whenever possible. Treatment of irrita-
tion caused by these plants is similar to that for the plants
with the poisonous sap or juices.
POLLUTED PLANT FOODS
Far more dangerous than any of the poisonous tropical plants
are those which — although in themselves perfectly harmless —
carry the germs of disease. In all inhabited areas in the Tropics
the danger of contracting disease through the eating of con-
taminated food is ever present. Germs are left on fruits
and vegetables when they are handled. Vegetables frequently
are contaminated by the earth in which they are grown because
in many countries the fields and garden plots are fertilized with
human dung which, of course, carries the germs of the ailments
from which the natives suffer and provides a ready source of
reinfection. Fruits and vegetables should be eaten raw only
when they are peeled or the outer surface is cut off with a knife
by the person eating them. Even then care must be taken not
to reinfect the freshly exposed portions. Vegetables and plants
found in abandoned clearings may be contaminated from the
FOOD m THE TROPICS
131
soil. Even though appearances suggest that the place has not
been occupied for some time, you should be on your guard and
prepare your food as carefully as though people were actually
living there. Thorough cooking kills all disease germs; hence
to be safe you should cook all vegetables. This is good pro-
tection against dysentery, cholera, and diarrhea. If flies are
present the food should be protected from them, as they can
reinfect it after it is cooked.
YII
THE ARCTIC
There are no large sections of the American Arctic in which
Eskimos, Indians, or white men have not lived. These people
have not been stranded or forced there, but have lived there by
choice, and usually without hardship. Though you need not
be an expert woodsman or know all the tricks an Eskimo knows,
some knowledge of how others have lived in these regions will
be of great assistance to you in an emergency.
There are three principal requirements for survival in the
Arctic: (1) knowledge of the country, (2) suitable clothing and
equipment, (3) calm judgment and knowledge of what to do.
Learn in advance all you can from maps, descriptions, or the
experience of others about the region you are in or are likely
to visit. Familiarize yourself with the exact location of settle-
ments or camps in relation to coasts, rivers, lakes, or other
prominent landmarks. Obtain all the information you can about
foot travel and living conditions in winter and summer in the
regions where you might some day be stranded. Learn what food
resources — animals, fish, birds, plants — you are likely to find
along the coasts, in the forested sections, or on the tundra.
When stranded in unfamiliar territory, whether forced down
in a plane or shipwrecked, your first thought will be for the care
and comfort of any who may be injured. You should next
consider what action on your part will lead to rescue in the
132
THE ARCTIC
133
shortest time. If you have been forced down from an airplane
in the interior, stay by the plane unless you have definite knowl-
edge of the location of a camp or settlement and know that you
can reach it in a short time. If you start off at random you will
be in much greater danger than if you stay where you are.
Searching planes will not be able to see you and almost certainly
you will become hopelessly lost. On the other hand, the grounded
plane will be easily visible from the air and if you establish a
camp nearby and build a fire as a signal, your chances of rescue
are good. If there is not too much wind, the smoke from a good
fire will be visible for ten miles or more. As an additional means
of attracting tbe attention of planes, spruce branches should be
arranged on the snow to form letters a hundred feet across or
more. Fire your signal pistol only when planes are heard
approaching.
In the north, native villages and camps as well as white settle-
ments are generally found along the coasts. Therefore, if you are
stranded on a beach your chances of rescue are good. However,
if there are rivers that cannot be crossed or if for any other
reason it is not practicable to set out on foot along the coast, the
best procedure will be to select a suitable camping place, build
a smudge fire and await rescue. Wood for the fire- — driftwood or
growing timber-will almost certainly be available, and the
chances are that food also can be obtained with little difficulty.
For winter travel back from the coast, snowshoes of some
sort are usually essential. These can be improvised after a
fashion from flat airplane or boat parts. The natives, in a
pinch, use fiat spruce boughs lashed onto their feet. Stick to the
ridges or streams where the wind-blown snow is thin, wherever
134
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
possible. In the spring and fall the snow may be soft in the
daytime but form a crust at night which will permit easier travel.
SIGNAL FIRE
Several packages of matches in waterproof containers, a
lighter, and candles are among the most necessary items of your
equipment ; some should be carried in your pockets and some in
the emergency kit. It is much better to take this simple precau-
tion than to be forced later to the difficult and uncertain expedient
of making fire by primitive methods. This warning is partic-
ularly applicable to those who may be lost in the Arctic where
snow in winter and rain and mist in summer may make it difficult
to obtain suitable dry materials for producing fire.
In order to conserve your supply of matches, light a candle
to start the fire. Dry birch bark shredded into strips makes
excellent kindling. Use this with wood shavings or dead twigs
from standing trees to start the fire. In wet weather dry fuel
can be obtained by cutting into the inner wood of a standing
dead tree or the under surface of a fallen dead tree not resting
entirely on the ground. When the fire is burning well put on
green spruce boughs to make a dense smoke.
Outside the forested areas the best fuel is driftwood. This
is usually abundant on northern beaches, though it is scarce
in some localities in the central Canadian Arctic and in the west-
ern Aleutians. It may also be found, though in smaller quanti-
ties, along lake shores and rivers in the interior, even in the so-
called Barren Grounds. If driftwood is not to be had, dwarf or
ground willow (Fig. 48) will provide an acceptable substitute.
THE ARCTIC
135
SCALE LIKE
LEAVES, VERY
SMALL.
Figure 47. — Cassiope, and evergreenlike plant good for fuel. See p. 136.
136
SURVIVAL, ON LAND AND SEA
It grows in protected spots in most parts of the Arctic. In winter
it is sometimes found exposed on bare windswept hills or in
gullies. The roots will burn as well as the branches. In some
varieties of ground willow the roots are more extensive than
the branches, and when dead and exposed on the surface of the
ground make very good fuel. In the Barren Grounds west of
Hudson Bay where there is no driftwood and little willow, the
Eskimos depend almost entirely on Cassiope, a kind of heather,
for fuel. This is a low’, spreading, evergreen plant with tiny
leaves and white bell-shaped flowers (Fig. 47). It grows from
4 to 12 inches high and contains so much resin that it will burn
even when green or wet. To get it burning well, however, some
dry kindling such as wood shavings or moss and a good breeze are
required. Dry moss and lichen (plants that grow on the rocks
or bark of trees) can also be used as fuel. All these fuels —
moss, lichen, heather, and willow — can be dug from beneath
the snow if necessary.
EMERGENCY FIRE MAKING
If matches or a lighter are not available and there is no dry
wood suitable for making a bow’ drill such as is described and
illustrated on page 69, fire can be made by the strike-a-light
method with flint and steel. Better than flint is iron pyrites,
known as ‘Tool’s gold,” a yellowish mineral found in lumps
along Arctic stream beds. A piece of pyrites and steel or flint,
or two pieces of pyrites, when struck together will give a good
shower of sparks; this method of fire making is employed by
most of the interior Eskimos and northern Indians. The flint
or steel should be struck against the pyrites, not violently but
with a sharp scraping motion. For making fire in this way a
137
THE ARCTIC
SINGLE
FLOWER
W CLUSTER
OF FLOWERS
Figure 48. — Arctic or dwarf willow. Low slirufo. See pp. 1§4*
138, and 155.
138
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
soft, dry, powdery tinder must be used. In an emergency cloth
can be unravelled and shredded. Very dry dead grass, cedar
or birch bark, or moss may be used, but it must be finely shred-
ded or pulverized. The best tinder— the kind used by the Barren
Ground and Arctic coast Eskimos — is the fluffy down of the
“cotton grass” that grows on the tundra in summer, or the fuzz
from the drooping flowers or buds of the Arctic w’illow (Fig. 48) .
When a spark has ignited the tinder it must be blown gently to
produce a flame. To make the tinder more inflammable, the Eski-
mos sprinkle on it a small amount of gunpowder or powdered
charcoal from charred sticks.
SHELTER
If stranded in deep snow without equipment, a trench can be
dug to a depth of several feet and the floor packed down by
stamping until it is solid. The top of the trench can then be
covered with a parachute or whatever may be available. Such
a shelter breaks the wind for its occupants. Northern Indians
when unable to get back to their camp or village often burrow
a sleeping hole into the side of a snow bank. A breathing hole
should be left open and one should be on the watch and ready
to move if deep drifts form. The Indians also make a snow’
house by piling up a heap of snow about the size of a small
haystack, patting down the surface with their snowshoes.
After standing for about 30 minutes, in very cold weather, the
outer surface freezes into a thin crust which makes a good roof
when the pile of snow is hollowed out. To do this they tunnel
into one side of the heap, one man passing the snow' out to the
others, until only a shell some or so inches thick is left. The
snow floor is packed and, when possible covered with spruce
boughs. It is important to have an air hole at the top and at
THE ARCTIC
139
least a small crack where the door is covered by a block of snow,
ice, or other object. Otherwise those inside might suffocate.
Such a shelter, if properly made, will hold several people comfort-
ably. The Eskimos make a more elaborate snow-block house,
but this calls for considerable skill and the method of construc-
tion should be learned from the natives themselves.
In timbered country it is easy to make a comfortable shelter
in the form of the lean-to described for the tropics (p. 64).
Only instead of coconut or similar leaves you will have spruce
boughs. Cover the three sides of the framework with overlap-
ping rows of flat spruce boughs, beginning at the bottom and laid
with their tips downward. Place several layers of spruce boughs
inside the shelter to form a floor. Have the open side of the
shelter face the fire and away from the prevailing wind.
If timber is not available a wall of snow* can be made for a
windbreak. If a tent is used in open country it should not be
placed under a cliff or in the lee of any large sheltering object,
for snow may drift down and bury it. It will be well, however,
to build a snow wall on the windward side to protect the tent
from wind and drifting snow. If the wall is built close to the
tent there will be no danger from snow drifts.
In pitching the tent the snow should be removed from the
inside and replaced by a layer of grass, moss, or boughs to
prevent the sleeping bags or other bedding from becoming wet.
Where the snow is deep it can be stamped down to make a firm
floor which can be covered with boughs or whatever materials
are available. Sleeping bags should not rest against the tent
walls.
CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING
If a tent or other closed shelter is used, it must be carefully
ventilated. A fire of any kind burning in a closed and poorly
ventilated space may produce carbon monoxide, a deadly poison-
140
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
ous gas. This gas has no odor and can kill a person before its
presence is suspected. A slight headache or feeling of pressure
at the temples is the only warning of carbon monoxide poisoning,
but even this may not be felt. To prevent the gas from forming,
make certain that the tent or hut has a hole at the apex and that
some air can come in from below. If partly overcome by the
gas, one should get into the open air immediately, keep warm, and
avoid all exercise or exertion for some time afterwards.
COOKING
For cooking, the fire should not be too large. If possible it
should be built between two logs or stones on which the cooking
utensils may rest. Another method is to suspend the pot over
the fire from a pole, the lower end of which is stuck into the
ground.
Boiling is the simplest and most practical method of cooking.
Long boiling is not necessary. If meat is cut into small pieces
and put in cold water it will be cooked sufficiently by the time
the water has boiled a couple of minutes. Drink the water in
which the meat is cooked.
If snow is used for cooking, place a small amount of it in the
pot at first, adding more as it melts. If the pot is crammed
full Gf soft, spongy snow this may act as a blotter, absorbing
the first water that melts and allowing the bottom of the pot to
burn. This may be avoided by tipping the pot.
If you have no pot the simplest method of cooking meat is to
broil thin strips over hot coals, holding them on the forked end
of a long stick. Larger pieces can be stuck on a stick and
suspended over the fire, turning them from time to time.
THE ARCTIC
141
WATER
Drinking water is not a fundamental problem in tbe [North.
In summer water can be obtained from streams, lakes, or ponds.
On the tundra pond water may have the color of teai because of
stain from grass roots and other plants, but it is good to drink.
In winter, snow and ice are melted for drinking. Whenever
possible avoid eating snow or ice directly for it lowers body
temperature and cuts down endurance.
On the sea you can obtain good drinking water from old sea
ice. Young sea ice is salty, like the water from which it was
formed, but after a year it loses its salt and becomes fresh.
Old sea ice can be distinguished by its smooth rounded corners
and bluish color. Young sea ice is rougher and milky gray in
color. In summer drinking water can be obtained from pools in
the old sea ice. Avoid pools near the edge of the floe where
saltwater spray may have blown in.
FOOD
Living off the country is not difficult in the North if one has
or can make the necessary weapons or other means for killing
or capturing land animals and fish. In the summer, shellfish
can be collected along the shore. Fish are abundant in fresh
water lakes, streams, and in the sea. Caribou and other land
mammals may be found, and millions of ducks, geese and smaller
birds come to breed on the tundra or the sea-cliffs. Since the
sea freezes over in the winter and most of the birds go south,
food resources then are more limited, and specialized hunting
technioues are necessary.
570603°— 44 10
142 SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
I-P-Edible shellfish.
(I. is sometimes poisonous south of the Aleutians.)
On the Seashore
In figure 49 are shown a few of the many edible varieties of
clams, mussels and other shellfish found in the far North.
THE ARCTIC
143
Most of them live in fairly shallow water. Edible shellfish are
relatively abundant on the Arctic and Bering Sea coasts of
America, but are scarce in the Arctic regions of Europe and
Asia. In regions where there is great variation in water level
between high and low tides, shellfish can usually be obtained
easily at low water, either by digging them with a stick on the
tide fiats or by collecting them from exposed pools and off-shore
reefs. On open sandy beaches with a low tide range, shellfish
are often cast up by storm waves. Before eating them, how-
ever, make sure they are not spoiled. Generally speaking, the
bivalves, such as clams and mussels (Fig. 49-1, J, L, M, N) are
more palatable than those with spiral shells, like snails, though
all are edible.
One of the most common edible mollusks of the Far North
is the small blackish-purple mussel (Fig. 49U-X). In North Pacific
waters this mussel is poisonous at certain times of the year
and in regions south of the Aleutian Islands should not be
eaten. In the Arctic and on the shores of the Bering Sea,
however, they may be eaten safely.
Chitons ( Fig. 49-K ) attach themselves to rocks and have to be
pried off. They are oval in shape and have the shell divided
into eight separate overlapping plates.
The eggs of the spiny sea urchins (Fig. 49-H) are excellent
food. In early days enormous quantities were consumed by
the natives of the Aleutian Islands and South Alaska. Sea
urchins are easily collected among the rocks and in tide pools
at low water. The bright yellow eggs or roe are obtained by
breaking the shell between two stones. One adult may contain
as much as a tablespoonful of eggs.
144
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
Another sea animal that provides good food is the sea cu-
cumber (fig. 49-G). Inside the body are five long white muscles
that taste much like clam meat.
In early summer it is sometimes possible to scoop up smelt
when they come to the edge of the beach to spawn in the surf.
Whenever available the Eskimos and northern Indians eat
kelp* the long ribbon-like seaweed, as well as the smaller branch-
ing variety that grows among the off-shore rocks. It is eaten
raw. In mid-summer many of the seaweeds are covered with
herring eggs and these are eagerly eaten by the Eskimos.
Fish
Salmon, cod, sculpin, trout, whitefish, herring, flounder, and
other salt water fish are abundant in the Arctic and along
northern Atlantic and Pacific shores. Some of these can be
caught by surf casting from the beach with a long hand line.
In spring and summer salmon enter many of the northern
streams to spawn — often in such numbers that they can be
speared from the bank. An improvised gig or spear— -a long
pole with two or three sharp wooden barbs lashed to the end-
can be used effectively in shallow water.
Small trout, grayling, and other fresh water fish will take
any kind of bait — worm, bug or piece of meat— -and can be
caught with the simplest of makeshift tackle, such as a bent
pin or a small sharp wooden hook attached to a thread or
raveling.
The simplest form of hook, one used by primitive peoples in
many parts of the world, is the gorge. This is a straight sliver
of wood or bone sharpened at both ends and with the line
THE ARCTIC
attached at the middle. It is entirely covered with bait and
is swallowed lengthwise by the fish. A poll on the line then
turns it crosswise in the gullet.
In winter fish can be caught at open leads or through holes
cut in the ice. The hook should be barbless so that the fish
can flop off as soon as it is hauled out, for in cold weather
it is difficult to remove a barbed hook with bare fingers.
Tom-cod and sculpin are the principal salt water fish that
can be caught in winter. Bait is not necessary. A white stone
used for a sinker, or a bit of shiny metal or brightly colored
cloth tied just above the hook will attract the fish, jvhich can
then be caught by jigging the line up and down.
In fishing through the ice for lake trout or salmon the hook
should be lowered to the bottom, then raised a few inches and
kept constantly jigging. The best bait is a strip cut from the
belly of a fish.
Land Animals
The caribou is the best all-round food animal on land in the
American Arctic. Some caribou move south to forested country
in the fall, but many remain on the northern islands and Barren
Grounds throughout the winter. Approach them carefully,
taking advantage of any cover, and try to get within 200 yards
before firing. Be certain that you are down wind from them
so that they cannot get your scent.
Wolves, foxes, snow-shoe rabbits, lemmings, weasels, and field
mice remain the year round and may be shot or trapped for food.
Ground squirrels are found in summer but hibernate in winter.
Musk-ox provide excellent food but are now found in only a few
remote localities in the Far North.
146
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
Rabbits and ground squirrels can be caught with a spring pole
snare (Fig. 50). A light pole about 5 feet long (A) is stuck in
the ground or a growing sapling can be bent over. Over the
runway or the entrance of the burrow is placed a bent-over limb
(B), both ends of which are stuck firmly in the ground. A
strong cord or light pliable wire is fastened securely to the end
of the spring pole, the longer end forming a noose and the
shorter end hanging free (upper left). The free end and the line
leading to the noose are looped (not tied) into a simple “catch
loop’* (upper right) on the under side of the bent over limb
(B). This catch loop holds down the end of the spring pole.
After the animal’s head goes through the noose the slightest
pull by his shoulders will release the catch loop thus freeing the
spring pole and drawing the noose tight.
THE ARCTIC
1471
If the snare is set to catch rabbits on a runway, the bent
limb (B) should be about 1 foot 3 inches high at the middle. The
bottom of the noose should be about 6 inches off the ground.
Brush or limbs should be placed under it and on either side to
prevent the animal from going under or around.
For catching ground squirrels the noose should be placed
directly in front of the burrow and be slightly smaller than the
opening.
If a spring pole is not available a simple hanging noose can be
attached to a fixed limb or other immovable object and suspended
over the runway or burrow entrance.
Sea Animals
Polar bears live on the ice floes and feed on seals. They can be
shot without much trouble but it takes a bullet in the heart or
brain to kill them. Polar bear liver is poisonous and should not
be eaten .
Seals are hard to approach but every effort should be made to
get them for they provide the best meat. In spring seals come
up to bask on the ice beside their breathing holes. They sleep
restlessly, raising their heads about every 30 seconds to look
around for their enemy, the polar bear. In approaching the
seal, the Eskimo hunter crawls forward cautiously while the
seal is sleeping, being careful to keep downwind of it. When
the seal moves the hunter stops and imitates its movements, lying
fiat on the ice, raising his head up and down and wriggling his
body slightly. In order to look as much like a seal as possible
the hunter approaches the seal sideways instead of head on and
keeps his arms close to his body. Since the seal is lying on
148
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
smooth ice and usually at an incline near the edge of the breath-
ing hole, it must be killed instantly by a shot through the brain,
for with the least movement of its body it will slide into the
water. Therefore, it should be shot shrough the head at close
range, 25 to 50 yards, so that the hunter can dash up and seize
it before it reaches the water and sinks.
Seals can also be shot in open water, and in winter they will
usually float, but the problem is to retrieve them. To accomplish
this the Eskimos use a seal hook, a short wooden club or ball
about the size of a. grapefruit, with four sharp upcurved iron
hooks at the center. This is attached to a long line and is thrown
over the seal which is hooked and pulled in. The wooden
grapple described in the section on making your own fishing kit
(p. 12) would serve this purpose if it were heavy enough and
the barbs sharp and strong enough to penetrate the seal’s hide.
Walruses are found on moving ice floes or at leads not far from
shore where they can feed on clams. They should be shot
through the neck, just below the head.
Birds
The only birds that remain in the Arctic over the winter are
ptarmigan, owls and ravens. Even these are likely to be scarce
north of the timber line, especially in the interior. Havens are
thin and of little use as food but owls and ptarmigan equal any
game bird in taste. Ptarmigan can be caught with noose snares
or even knocked down with a stick or stone.
In summer countless numbers of birds come north to breed.
Ducks, geese, loons, and many other kinds of land birds build
their nests near ponds on the low tundra and their eggs can be
THE ARCTIC
149
collected for food. Millions of sea birds nest on rocky shore
cliffs but are usually hard to reach.
The Eskimos catch many birds with simple noose snares. To
catch nesting birds they place the noose in the nest to catch the
bird’s feet. The noose is attached to a stake driven in the ground
nearby. Sometimes long lines with many small nooses attached
are set out on beaches and ponds where birds gather.
Sea gulls can be caught with a gorge made of a sharp sliver
of bone or wood about 8% inches long with a long line attached
at the middle. The bait is a piece of fish or meat completely
covering the stick or bone, which when swallowed will turn
crosswise in the gull’s throat.
Plant Foods
Though plant food is not abundant in the Arctic it is by no
means absent. In the summer there are numerous varieties of
edible berries, greens, roots, and lichens that can be collected
along the seacoasts and in the interior if one knows where to
look. A few varieties of berries may be found even in winter
under the snow. There is no need to* worry about poisonous
plants, for with the exception of a single variety of mushroom
(Fig. 51), none grows in the Arctic. The only problem is to be
able to distinguish the more palatable and nutritious plants from
those that have no value as food. Brief descriptions of the
principal Arctic food plants are given below :
The salmonberry (Fig. 52), also known as the cloudberry,
is a low creeping plant, rarely more than 3 inches high. It is
widely distributed in the Arctic, growing on mossy, peaty soil.
The leaves are large and wide, with five lobes, and the flowers
150
SURVIVAL OH LAHD AHD SEA
WHITE GILLS
Figure 51.*—:
Poisonous mushroom, about 3 y2" broad, 7*4" high.
See p. 149.
THE ARCTIC
151
SALMON-COLORED
BERRY
Figure 52.— Salmonberry, 3" to 10" high. See p. 149.
152
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
are white, about % of an inch iu diameter. The berries are
about the size of raspberries, very juicy with a pleasant taste.
When immature they are red, changing to yellow as they ripen
in July or August. The mountain cranberry (Fig. 53) is a low,
creeping evergreen shrub from 2 to 8 inches high. It has small,
shiny, dark green leaves and clusters of white or pink bell-
shaped flowers. The berries are dark red, about % to %
inch in diameter. They ripen in August and September, but
remain on the bush all winter and can be gathered the next
spring when they taste even better than in the fall. The plant
is widely distributed in the Arctic but usually does not bear
fruit north of the tree line. It is found in greatest abundance
in open birch and willow thickets. When stewed and sweet-
ened the mountain cranberry is even better than the' southern
variety.
The black crowberry (Fig. 54) is a low evergreen plant with
spreading branches and small narrow leaves resembling those
of a fir or spruce. The flowers are inconspicuous. The small,
black shiny berries are sweet and juicy. The crowberry is
found in many parts of the Arctic, growing best in sandy or
rocky soil, especially along the seacoasts. The Eskimos are
very fond of the berries a.nd collect them from under the snow,
since they remain on the bush through the winter.
Two varieties of bilberry, closely resembling our blueberry,
grow in abundance on the mossy hillsides and tundra. They
produce delicious bluish-black berries. Somewhat resembling
the bilberries are the Alpine and red bearberry, low plants with
small red or black berries. They are rather mealy, and taste
better stewed.
THE ARCTIC
153
FLOWERS
PINKISH
FRUITS
RED
LEAVES
THICK
Figure 53.-=r-Mountain cranberry. Low, creeping. See p. 152.
154
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
. ft
Figurb 54. — Black crowberry. See p. 152,
THE ARCTIC
155
In the forested interior there are several other varieties of
edible berries, the most important being the Northern goose-
berry, the red currant, and the wild raspberry.
GREENS
Mountain sorrel (Fig. 55) is a low plant with round or kidney-
shaped leaves and stalks of small red or green flowers that
grows on shady hillslopes and ravines. The leaves have a pleas-
ant, slightly acid taste and may be eaten raw or boiled.
The willow herb or northern flreweed is an erect plant with
dark green, narrow, pointed leaves and large purple flowers that
reaches a height of 18 inches. It grows on shady or gravelly
soil, especially along creeks and river banks. When cooked,
the leaves taste something like spinach.
Wild rhubarb (Fig. 56) is a large plant, 3* to 0 feet high, with
reddish stems, large pointed leaves and clusters of small flowers.
It is common in the Yukon and Mackenzie valleys but absent
to the east. The young juicy stems that appear in the spring
may be stewed or boiled like rhubarb.
The tender young leaves of the dwarf willow (Fig. 48) and also
the inner bark of willow roots, may be boiled and eaten. These
are among the favorite vegetable foods of the Eskimos in some
parts of Alaska.
Another favorite food plant of the Bering Sea Eskimos and
Aleuts is the wild celery or wild parsnip (Fig. 57) . On the main-
land usually it is less than 2 feet tall, but on the Aleutian Islands
it reaches a height of 6 feet or more. It has a straight thick
stalk, large leaves with deeply indented margins, and numerous
clusters of small flowers branching out at the top of the stalk.
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
THE AEGTIC
157
The tender inner portions of the main stalk and the leaf stalks
have a somewhat sweetish taste and may be eaten raw after
stripping off the outer covering. It grows in protected spots
where the soil is rich, especially around old village sites, and
is well known as a food plant in the sub-Arctic sections of Green-
land, Kamchatka, and Europe.
Kelp and other seaweeds are also eaten by the Eskimos, either
raw or boiled.
ROOTS
Four kinds of edible roots are shown in figures 58 to 61. Lico-
rice root (Fig. 58) grows from 1 to 2 feet high and has stalks
of pink flowers that develop into seed pods. It has a flexible
root, about as thick as a man’s finger. When cooked it tastes
like carrots.
The woolly lousewort (Fig. 59) is 5 to 8 inches high with
several stems of rose colored flowers, and has a yellow tap root
which tastes like carrots. It is found mostly in dry tundra
country.
Snakeroot (Fig. 60) from 5 to 10 inches high with large oblong
leaves, spikes of white or pink flowers and an edible root about I
the size of a pecan, grows on dry tundra.
There is a small plant belonging to the lily family (Fig. 61)
that is common on the Aleutian Islands and along the Alaskan
coast to Bering Strait and the opposite shores of Asia, but is
not found in the high Arctic.- It has greenish purple flowers,
long pointed leaves and an edible root like a small onion. The
roots taste bitter when raw but can be boiled into a starch paste
and eaten. Eskimos and Aleuts are fond of the bulbs, often
boiling them with their meat.
570603°— 44 -11
158
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
Figuee 56. — Wild rhubarb, a large edible herb, 3-6 feet high.
See p. 155.
THE ARCTIC
159
Figure 57. — Wild celery or parsnip. Herb, 2-6 feet high. See p. 155.
160
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
THE ARCTIC
Figure 60. — Snakeroot, height up to 10 inches. See p. 157.
THE ARCTIC
163
FLOWERS GREENISH
PURPLE.
Figure 61. — Fritillaria, lilylike kerb. Root parts onionlike, edible
when boiled. See p. 157.
m
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
EDIBLE FUNGI AND LICHENS
Many edible mushrooms occur in the wooded sections, but
one kind is poisonous (Fig. 51). This is white or greenish or
grayish brown, is smooth on top, has white gills, and a bulbous
base. To be on the safe side avoid any mushroom with white
gills and a swollen base. All others may be eaten.
Among the edible lichens of the North are reindeer moss
(Fig. 62) and Iceland moss (Fig. 63) which resembles it. These
are low, moss-like plants with a network of branching stems in-
stead of leaves. To be eaten they must first be soaked in water,
then dried, ground into a powder, and again placed in water for
several hours before being boiled. This will produce a sticky
porridge-like mixture which though somewhat insipid to taste,
has considerable food value.
Another edible lichen that may be prepared in the same way
is rock tripe (Fig. 64) a black or brown leathery lichen that
grows abundantly on rocks all through the Arctic. It has broad
fronds, 1 to 3 inches in diameter, folded or crinkled at the edges
and attached to the rock at the center. Bock tripe is commonly
used in the North as an emergency food. Sir John Franklin,
Richardson and other early Arctic explorers lived for weeks on
it with hardly any other food.
Arctic Ailments
Showblindness is caused by the glare from snow and ice, not
only from light reflected directly by the sun, but also from dif-
fused light when the sky is dark and overcast. Though actual
blindness does not result, the condition is painful and serious.
THE ARCTIC
165
GREENISH
GRAY.
ON OPEN
TUNDRA
Figure 62. — Reindeer moss. See p. 164.
Rubbing the eyes will increase the burning and stinging sensa-
tion. The only treatment is complete rest for the eyes by wear-
ing dark glasses or, in severe cases, by bandaging the eyes.
166
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
To prevent snowblindness dark glasses should be worn at all
times. They should have shields to prevent glare from entering
at the sides. The rims should not be of metal as they might
stick to the skin. If dark glasses are not available, improvised
goggles can be made from pieces of canvas or other heavy cloth,
cardboard, or even pieces of wood, with narrow slits for the eyes.
Blackening the cheeks and nose with soot is helpful.
For warmth, clothing should be kept as dry as possible.
Before going inside the tent or shelter, brush the snow from your
clothes. It is extremely important to avoid overheating for
THE ARCTIC
167
BROWN
LIKE
*V LEATHERY
LEAVES ON
ROCKS.
GREENISH
Figure 64.-— Hock tripe. See p. 164.
168
SURVIVAL. OK LAKD AND SEA
freezing may result from excessive perspiration. With the heavy
clothes that you have to wear in the Arctic you will naturally
sweat if you are very active. As soon as you are conscious of
overheating, loosen your clothing or remove the outer layers
entirely. If you are doing hard work or hiking you will not need
as much clothing as when you are inactive. The guiding rule is
to avoid heavy sweating at all costs, wearing just enough clothes
to keep warm and comfortable, and removing outer garments as
soon as you begin to' perspire.
Socks, inner soles, and boots should be dried at night. If
possible, stuff wet shoes with dry grass or other material to
absorb the moisture ; do not put them too near the fire or they
will harden and crack.
You must be on guard against frostbite and freezing of the
fingers, toes, ears, face or other parts. Keep your face and ears
covered as much as possible and wiggle your fingers and toes
frequently to keep up circulation. Should a white spot appear
on the skin, or the toes or fingers begin to feel numb, treatment
should be begun immediately. If the white patch can be covered
with a warm, ungloved hand circulation may be quickly restored
to it. Frosted fingers may be treated by contact with the warm
body under the clothing. A frosted foot is best warmed by
removal of the shoe and sock and the placing of the bare foot
inside the shirt and against the body of a companion. Gentle
massage may aid in restoring circulation. Do not rub roughly or
apply snow or ice to the part. The application of heat at tem-
peratures greater than that of the body (98.6° F.) will do more
harm than good. If circulation cannot be restored promptly and
the part returned to- its normal color, it should be wrapped (in
a sterile bandage if possible) , be covered warmly and kept at rest.
VIII
THE DESERTS
Deserts are usually large, barren, dry, hot in the daytime,
cool at night, and relatively free from dangerous large animals.
Being too large to walk out of easily, deserts force you to plan
carefully and to conserve your strength and supplies to the ut-
most. Being barren, deserts cannot be expected to supply you
with vegetable food; you cannot count on any growing thing to
eat. Being dry, deserts deplete rather than replenish your
precious water supply. Being hot in the daytime, and cooler at
night, deserts force you to lie quietly during the sunlight hours
and to travel at night. Being fairly free of large dangerous
animals, deserts relieve you of the necessity of carrying heavy
weapons, which would otherwise add to your load. Be sure to
keep light arms in case you are lucky enough to find birds or
other small game.
The two most important things to remember are :
(1) Save your water supply. Do not swallow large mouthfuls
but merely moisten your lips and throat with a small sip now
and then.
(2) Conserve your strength by staying quietly under cover dur-
ing the heat of mid-day. Walk during the early evening, night,
and early morning, when it is more comfortable and when you
can avoid the risk of sunstroke or heat prostration and get along
on less water.
169
170
SURVIVAL 0 N LAND AND SEA
WATER
If yon have more equipment than you can carry, sacrifice
anything but water. The amount of water you carry is the
amount of insurance you have against desert disaster. Use
what water you have for drinking. You can wash when you
are safe again. Of course, if you have any wounds, scratches
or sores you must keep them clean even at the expense of your
precious drinking supply. If you have any salt tablets with
you, take them from time to time, the interval depending on
how many tablets you have and how far from help you estimate
you may be. They will help combat fatigue and heatstroke, and
also enable you to get along on less water. Do not smoke. Smok-
ing increases thirst. Carrying a smooth pebble in the mouth
will reduce thirst by stimulating the flow of saliva.
There are several aids to finding water that may be present
in some desert areas. If there are any dried-up stream beds,
which look like long, fairly narrow and rather shallow ditches,
choose the lowest place in the bottom of the ditch and dig. If
there is any water within a few feet of the surface you will
soon feel that the sand is slightly damp. If you find this to be
so, dig further and you may find water. The same is true for
dried-up lake beds. These are usually pond-shaped fairly level
areas, called “pans” in some deserts, around the edges of which
are slightly raised ridges. Again find the lowest spot and dig.
Remember that water runs down hill and that it seeks the lowest
place it can reach either on or under the surface.
Plants are good indicators of water. As a rule the denser the
growth of such desert grasses as salt grass and reed-like grasses,
the closer to the surface the water probably is. In those deserts
THE DESERTS
171
of the western United States where the desert palm is found, its
•presence is a sure indicator of water, usually not more than a foot
or two away from its base. Other palms in other deserts are also
good water indicators ( see desert plants, p. 119 ) .
In deserts where there are appreciable numbers of animals,
you may find water by following their trails. The water to
which they go may be on the surface or slightly beneath it.
You will see where they have pawed or dug the sand to get
at the water.
If you find surface water that is polluted or briny, dig a
hole in the sand close to it and downhill from it (or deeper
than it). Do not attempt to connect the two holes. The wall
of sand between them should act as a filter and the water as
it soaks through into the hole you have made will be relatively
free from salt and pollution. Presence of briny surface water
may mean pure water deeper down. Dig a deeper hole nearby
to get the pure water.
Do not drink all your water when you see a lake or stream.
Wait until you get to it. It may be a mirage and leave you
in a far worse plight than before.
If you come to a water hole or small oasis you can replenish
your supplies of water and food. Boil all the water before
using it or storing it in your canteens for the next trek. Cook
any food you may get from natives at an oasis. Do not trust
ready-cooked food or raw fruits and vegetables. (See Polluted
Foods, p. 130.)
FOOD
Go over what food you have and decide on a daily ration.
Eat as little as possible. The more you eat the more water
172
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
yon will want, and the sooner you will be out of both food
and water. The heat of the desert will tend to reduce your
appetite. Food spoils rapidly when once it is opened, so make
your meals of one can or package at a time. As much as possible
use foods that require less water to wash them down — such
as packaged meats and dried fruits ; avoid thirst producers like
crackers and mealy foods. If you have a chance to shoot or
capture any game, the meat when cooked will supply some
moisture as well as nourishment.
DUST
If the wind causes a dust storm, cover your nose and mouth
with any cloth you may have to act as a filter for the air you
inhale. Keep your back to the wind ; it helps protect your eyes
and your breathing.
CLOTHES
Be sure to keep your head and body covered from the sun
during the day. The nights are apt to be cool and you should
have warm enough clothing. Remember this if you have to
decide how much of your clothing you can afford to discard
to lighten your load. In the daytime always wear a woolen
cloth around your abdomen to prevent chills, especially when
it is very hot and there is rapid evaporation of perspiration.
Chilling of the abdomen may bring on diarrhea and other
complaints.
Wear clothing as loose as possible. Any Sapping as you
move helps create a little breeze which aids in evaporation
THE DESERTS
173
of your perspiration. This, in turn, helps maintain your normal
body temperature, and helps to keep you from overheating.
Your feet are your only means of reaching safety, so take care
of them. Keep sand out of your shoes, even if it means frequent
stops. Spiral puttees overlapping the top of the shoes help to
keep sand out. If your shoes are thin wear two pairs of socks
if possible.
HOW TO TRAVEL
If you think you may be found where you are, stay there.
Otherwise travel at night and do not try for too great speed.
Remember the marathon runner. He conserves his strength
for distance and does not try to sprint. In the daytime rest
quietly, covered from the sun by shade, if any, or by a make-
shift blanket. If you have a compass, trust it rather than
yourself. If you do not have one, never forget the importance
of keeping on a straight path. When resting, always sit facing
the direction you want to go. When lying down have your head
in that direction, so that you won’t forget which way you were
going. Or arrange a stick or a line of pebbles as a pointer.
SIGNALS
If you have matches and any burnable material, make a bright
fire as a signal at night, or a smoky smudge as a signal in the
daytime. If you have gasoline, you can scratch large letters
in the sand, fill these trench-like lines with gasoline and ignite
when planes pass overhead.
570603° — 44
12
174 SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
DESERT AILMENTS
There are three chief desert illnesses (other than thirst).
They are:
(1) Heatstroke or sunstroke. Symptoms — headache, spots be-
fore the eyes, dizziness, yomiting, sometimes even unconscious-
ness ; skin is hot and dry ; face flushed . Treatment — place vic-
tim on his back in shade and remove all outer clothing. liaise
his head ; cool his body with water and by fanning ; rub his arms,
legs, and trunk; if conscious give him two salt tablets with a
canteen of water.
(2) Heat exhaustion. Symptoms— nausea, dizziness, weak-
ness ; face is pale and skin is cold and sweating. Treatment —
place victim on his back in shade and give three to five canteens
full of cool water, 2 to 3 teaspoonfuls of salt to the gallon, during
the next 12 hours.
(3) Heat cramps. Symptoms — shallow breathing, vomiting,
dizziness. Treatment-same as for heat exhaustion.
Under conditions where supplies are available and there is
no shortage of water, heat exhaustion and cramps can be
guarded against by alloting at least 2 gallons of drinking water
per day per man, and by salting the water with 2 to 3 tea-
spoonsful of salt to the gallon. When possible all food should
be heavily salted. Avoid alcoholic beverages and meat in large
quantities.
Desert sores may develop whenever a break occurs in the
skin under desert conditions. Prompt disinfection of all
wounds, no matter how trivial, with 2 percent tincture of
iodine, proflavine, zephiran or other agent, and covering with
sterile gauze to prevent contamination by files will be helpful.
IX
THE 'UNITED STATES
Finally, for the benefit of those who have successfully adapted
themselves to all the strange environments herein discussed,
there is attached a final word concerning that welcome time when
you return to the United States with victories and strange expe-
riences behind you. Lest you unwittingly violate local taboos,
we include the following advice for visitors to the United
States by W eare Holbrook in This Week magazine* :
“Americans usually open a conversation by asking, ‘Well,
what’s new?’ It is not necessary to reply to this except by
saying, ‘Well, what’s new with you?’
“The monetary system is rather confusing. Regardless of
their denomination, five, ten, and twenty-dollar bills are all the
same size. A nickel (worth only five cents) is almost twice as
large as a dime (worth ten cents). Two dollar bills are tabu
and the natives are extremely superstitious about them.
“Listen patiently when veterans of the first World War tell
you how much tougher things were in their day. Remember
they had to listen to the Spanish-American War veterans, who in
turn had to listen to the Civil War veterans.
“In some parts of the United States, eggs in powdered form
are unobtainable, and you will have no choice but to eat them
directly from the shell. However, it is always advisable to
♦Through an unfortunate error, these excerpts were erroneously
ascribed to another author in the first edition of Survival on Land and
Sea.
175
176
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
boil them first. In the rural districts it is also difficult to get
dried vegetables owing to a lack of dehydrating equipment.
“You may be shocked to see beets, turnips, and potatoes dis-
played in their natural state, with bits of garden soil still cling-
ing to them. Yet when mashed and properly prepared, these
vegetables can be quite palatable. The natives seem to thrive
on them.
“In churches and auditoriums and other public places you will
often see women surreptitiously slipping their feet out of their
shoes and wiggling their toes. This is strictly a feminine pre-
rogative, and has no religious significance. Do not attempt
to imitate them. Always be tactful. If, for example, you notice
that your Aunt Beulah has had her extra chin removed by plastic
surgery, don’t congratulate her. This operation is known as
‘losing face’ and the natives are very sensitive about it.
“But after all, the best way to understand the Americans is
to settle down and actually live with them. They are really a
very friendly people despite the apparent ferocity of their hand-
shakes and their violent back-slapping. They mean well.
Remember their civilization is much younger than that of Europe
and Asia. They are just great big overgrown children at heart
and should be treated as such.”
INDEX
A
Page
Abandoning ship.. 3
Acorns 116
Africa, plants of ... 119
Air plants as thirst quenchers _ 33, 59
Alcohol, danger of drinking 8, 76. 174
America, tropical plants of 119
Animals in the Arctic 141, 145, 147
Animals in the tropics 59, 79
Ants 74
Arctic:
animals of 141,145,147
plants of 149
survival in 132
Atabrine, dosage as malaria preventive 72
B
Bait for fish____ 13, 14, 16, 43, 144
Balsam vine___ 91
Bamboo:
shoots as food____ 99
use of, for rafts 62
use of, for shelter 64
Bananas, kinds of 93
Bearberries 152
Bears, polar 147
Bees__ 74
Beetles, as food 81
Berries, as food 103, 149
Bilberries 152
Birds, edible:
ducks 141,148
geese___-__--__-~ 141, 148
loons. 148
owls___ 148
parrots _______ 80
ptarmigans. 148
ravens__________ 148
sea gulls. 149
Bird eggs. 148
Blood worms.. 77
Box fish 49
Breadfruit tree 89
Burning glass for starting fire 71
Burr fish , 49
Butterflies and moths. __________________ 74
177
178
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
€
Cacti . _
Carbon-monoxide poisoning, avoidance of
Caribe (South American fish)
Caribou _
Cashew nuts
Cassava
Cassiope
Castor oil plant
Catfish
Celery, wild
Centipede, sting of
Central America, plants of
Ceremony, native religious
Chart, waterproof
Cherry, ground___
Chigger bites, how to recognize and treat
China nut or lychee
Cicadas, as food
“Climbing bandage” for climbing coconut tree
Clothing:
in the Arctic.
in the desert
Clouds, as indication of land
Coconut:
as source of food and drink
fiber for cordage
how to open
how to reach by climbing
leaves for shelter
oil as skin protector and mite repellent
Codfish
Coloradilla
Cones, type of poisonous mollusk
C onstell ations
Constipation
Cooking in the Arctic
Coral reefs, dangers from
Cow or milk tree
Cowfish
Cowhage
Crabs, how to catch and cook
Cramps, heat
Cranberry, mountain
Crawfish (shrimp) , how to catch and cook
Crocodiles
Cross, Southern
Currents and wind
D
Desert country, survival in
Desert sores
Page
... 119
... 139
77
. 141,145
95
. 103,116
... 134
... 122
51
... 155
74
119
63
19
__ 103
72
... 116
81
36
... 166
... 172
31
38
36
39
36
64
32, 40, 73
... 144
72
41
23
8
__ 140
31
_. 116
49
130
42
._ 174
152
82
77
29
18
169
174
INDEX
179
Page
Dew, collection of___„ — — — 59
Dip net, how to make 44, 32
Dipper, the, how to locate 25
Direction, determining 20
Disease from natives 54
Disinfection of wounds 52
Driftwood as signal-fire material 134
Drill, fire, how to make „ 68
Drinking water (see: Water, drinking).
Ducks and geese. 141, 148
Dumb Cane 122
Durian tree, fruit of... 112
Dust storms 172
E
Eggs, birds’ 80,148
Exposure at sea 7
Eyes and glare.. 7, 164
F
Feet, care of 168, 173
Ferns, edible kinds of 108, 112, 116
Field mice 145
Figs.. 115,119
Fig tree 115
Filefish 49
Firemaking. 65,134,136
Fire plow, how to make and use... 67
First aid... 72, 164, 174
Fish:
Arctic... 141,144
at sea 10
attracting at sea 14
cooking 1 41
eggs 47, 144
hooks, bait, nets and lines for 12
island sea food 40
poisonous varieties of. 48
precautions 48
preservation of 47
trapping of 47
with poisonous flesh 48
with poisonous spines 49
Flukes or blood worms, danger areas for 77
Flying fish ... 16
Food:
animal:
Arctic 141, 145, 147
land mammals 141, 145
sea mammals 147
tropical and jungle 79, 83
birds and birds’ eggs 80, 148
180
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
Pood— Continued. page
fruits (see: Fruits, edible).
fungi and lichen 164
insects------ 74,81,82
nuts (see: Nuts, edible),
plants (see: Plants, edible) .
reptiles (see: Reptiles, edible).
roots.—— — — — 149, 157
sea animals - 147
shellfish (see: Shellfish, edible).
Food at sea, how to issue — 10
Food, preservation and care of __ 47, 81, 93
Food, where to locate:
Arctic 141
clearings and abandoned fields 93, 105
river and stream margins 105
seashores... 84,142
swamps 91,108
tropical forests and jungles 79, 83, 112
woods and thickets 105
Forests, wet and dry 58
Foxes 145
Freezing, treatment for 164
Frostbite, treatment for - 164
Fruits:
apples, wild 116
balsam vine 91
bananas 93
berries..--- - - 103,149
breadfruit 89
cherries, groun d 103
durian. 112
figs 115,119
gourds 91
grapes 91
longan.. 116
mango 95,119,122
melons. 91
papaya 93
peaches 116
pineapples 103
plantains - 93
Fuel, kinds of. 65, 134, 136
Fungi, edible 164
G
Game, where to watch for 62
Gas, carbon-monoxide, poisoning _____ 139
Geese.. 141, 148
Glass, burning, for starting fire______ 71
Gourds. 91
INDEX
181
Page
Grapevines.... ________ . 91
Grasshoppers, as food _____ 81
Greens, edible, of the Arctic 149, 155
Ground cherry____ __ 103
Ground squirrels. 145
Grubs, as food 81
Gulls, sea, how to catch 149
H
Heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and cramps 174
Herring and herring eggs 144
Hooks, fish__ 12
Horseradish tree____--__- 105
Husk, removal of, from green coconut 39
I
Iceland moss 164
Immersion foot 8
Indications of land. 31
Indo-China and Siam, plants of 116
Infection, plant 119
Insect bites, treatment of 72
Insects, edible:
ants___ 74
beetles... 81
cicadas 81
grasshoppers 81
palm weevils 81
termites. 82
Iron pyrites. 136
Island seafoods, kinds of 40
Island survival — 31
J
Jiggers or chiggers.. — 72
Job’s tears... 105
Jungle:
animals. 59
dangers 59,71
foods 112
how to conduct yourself in 58
insects.— 71
reptiles... - ____ 75
K
Kelp-.. — - 144, 157
Kindling or tinder.. 67, 134, 136
“Lagoon Glare”, definition of 31
Landfall on inhabited or uninhabited island—— 31
182 SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
li
Page
Land, indications of _ 81
Landings, instructions for 31
Land leeches, dangers from ____ 75
Land mammals 63, 141, 145
Lean-to, how to build 64, 139
Leeches, ways of removing 75
Lemmings 145
Lichens, edible, Arctic 149, 164
Licorice root ____ 157
Life boat, conduct in 6
Lizards, as food 79
Lobsters, how to catch 42
Log, over-water flight ______ 19
Longan 116
Loons, as food _____ 148
Lotus _____ 107
Lump fish 59
Lychee, or China nut ________ 116
M
Malaria, precautions against 72
Malaysia, Polynesia, and the Philippines, plants of 89, 100, 116
Mammals, land__ 63, 141, 145
Mammals, sea 147
Mancineel or manzanillo tree 122
Mango 95, 119, 122
Maps, value of__ 19
Matches, care of 65
Meat, how to preserve 47, 81
Medical treatment 72, 164, 174
Melons 91
Mice, field 145
Milk tree 116
Mirages ________ 31,171
Mite-borne diseases 72
Mites, protection against 40, 72
Mollusks, edible, varieties of .41, 142
Mollusks, poisonous, varieties of____ .41, 143
Monkeys as food , 80
Mosquitoes, protection against 71
Moss, Arctic— 136, 164
Moths and butterflies 74
Mulberries 103, 116
Mushrooms, Arctic, edible 149, 164
Mushrooms, Arctic, poisonous 149, 164
Musk-ox__ 145
N
Natives - 53
Navigation:
by stars, sun, etc. _____ __________ 21
general _______________ 17
of rafts __________ 18
INDEX
183
Page
Needle-urchins, description Qf _ 46
Net, dip, how to make 44, 82
Nettles 130
Nettle tree __ 130
Nipapalm 112
North Star (Polaris), how to locate 26
Nuts, edible:
acorns 116
cashew 95
chestnut, water - _ _ _ 108
lychee, or China nut 116
peanuts-. 103
O
Oases, safety rules for food at 171
Oil:
burns, how to avoid, when abandoning ship 5
coconut, direction for extraction of_ 39
coconut, use of____ 32, 40, 73
Orientation. 30
Orion, Belt of, how to locate 24
Owls, as food _ _ » 148
P
Palms, coconut (see: Coconut)
Palms, edible parts of_____ 84, 112
Palm weevil, as food 81
Pandanus, or screw pine, as food 87
Pandanus, as thirst quencher 36
Papaya 93
Parrot, as food 80
Paths to follow or avoid 62
Peaches. 116
Peanuts 103
Philippines, Polynesia, and Malaysia, plants of 89, 100, 116
Physic nut 122
Pigs, wild. 63
Pigweed, as thirst quencher 33
Pine (screw) as food, and where found 87
Pineapples 103
Piranha, South American fish 77
Plantains 93
Plants, edible:
arrowroot, Polynesian 91
bamboo shoots 99
cacti__ 119
cassava 103,116
celery, wild 155
chestnut, Polynesian 89
coconuts 36
ferns 108, 112, 117
184 SURVIVAL OK LAND AND SEA
Plants, edible — Continued. Page
fungi and lichen 164
grasses ____ iQ5
horseradish—— 105
lotus_ 107
mountain sorrel- 155
palms 84,112
pandanus, screw pine 87
pokeweed 103
purslane— 33,61
rhubarb, wild 155
rice 108
seaweed 144, 157
sugarcane 99
sweet potato 100
tapioca. 103,116
taro 100
tomatoes, wild 100, 116
water lily 107
Plants, poisonous kinds 119
Plants for shelter 64
Plants, tropical 83
Plants for water 33, 59
Poisonous animals and plants 119
Pokeweed 103
Polar bears 147
Polaris (North Star), how to locate 25
Polluted water, how to purify. 59, 171
Polynesian arrowroot 91
Polynesian chestnut 89
Polynesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, plants of 89, 100, 116
Porcupine fish 49
Ptarmigan 148
Puffer, or swell fish 49
Purslane, as thirst quencher 33
Purslane, as food— . 91
Pyrites ____________ 136
Q
Quinine, use of 72
K
Rabbits 145
Rafts, navigation of 18
Rafts, wood for building 62
Rain water, how to collect 9
Rattan 61, 66, 112
Red bug (see: Mites).
Reindeer moss, Arctic 164
Religious rites, respect for 62
Rengas tree— 122
Reptiles, poisonous kinds of 16, 75
Rescue craft, procedure in 6
Rescue from Arctic localities 132
INDEX
185
Reptiles as food: Pa^e
lizards 79
snakes 79
turtles 16
Reptiles of jungle____ 75
Rhubarb, wild-. 155
Rice, wild 108
Rock tripe, edible lichen, Arctic 164
Roots, edible, of the Arctic 149, 157
S
Salmon 144
Salmonberry — 149
Salt tablets 174
Salt water, dangers of drinking 10, 32
Salt-water sores, prevention of 40
Sandbox tree 122
Sandstorms—. 172
Scorpion, sting of 74
Scorpion fish 49,52
Screw pines, Pacific region 36, 87
Sculpin 144,145
Sea-cucumbers, as food 45, 144
Sea-cucumbers, where to find 45
Seafood, varieties of___ 40
Sea gulls, how to catch 149
Seals 147
Sea snakes, poisonous— 16
Sea-urchins or sea-eggs _____ 45, 143
Seaweed, as food ________ 144, 157
Sharks 16,17
Shellfish, mollusks. etc.:
cooking of 41
edible kinds of:
clams ______ 41,143
crabs 42
lobsters , 42
mussels 142
shrimps 82
snails 143
how and where to find : 41
Shelters:
Arctic 138
building 64,139
coconut leaves for building 64
Shrimp, how to catch and cook 82
Siam and Indo-China, plants of 116
Sickness 72,164,174
Signal fires 133,173
Sorrel, mountain 155
Smudge fire, how to make___ 134
188
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA
Snakes:
as food————
sea, poisonous __ __
treatment of bites from
Snakeroot ___
Snowblindness _
Snow shelter
Soft-bodied urchins, description of_
Sores, salt-water, coconut oil to prevent
Sores, desert
South America, plants of
South American stream fish_
Southern Cross, how to locate
Spiders, bites of
Spiny toadfish
Squirrels, ground
Stars, navigation by
Stings, care of
Stinging fish
Stinging nettle
Stingrays _____
Stonefish
Streams, as highways to rescue-
Strychnine
Sugarcane, as food
Sun, navigation by the___
Sunburn, prevention of
Sunstroke, prevention and treatment of
Swamps and bogs, avoidance of______
Swamps and bogs, food from__________
Sweet potatoes, as food.
T
Tapioca
Taro, as food...
Terebras, type of poisonous mollusk
Termites, winged, as food—
Thirst, quenching of: (see also: Water)
at sea
by use of pebbles
palm juice
plants
Thirst, effects of alcohol and tobacco on
Thornfish
Ticks, wood....
Tiger fish—
Tinder
Toadfish-__
Toadstools
Tobacco, effect upon thirst
Tomatoes, wild — — .
Trails, to follow or avoid——..
Trapping animals—
Trapping fish—
Trigger fish—
“Tripe de Roche/' edible lichen, Arctic.—
Page
79
16
76
157
— _ 164
138
46
— - 40
,___„ 174
___ 95,116
77
29
74
50
145
99
1 1 1 ~ 52, 130
50
130
51
_ 50
,____ 61
122
99
20
7, 32, 40, 63
, 32, 40, 174
62,91
— 91
100
103, 118
_ 100
41
82
9
- 170
61
33
8
49
73
50
67, 136
50
_ 149
- 8, 170
100, 116
63
80, 146
_ 47, 82
49
_ 164
INDEX
187
Page
Tropical American foods- ______ _ _____ 119
Tropical plants, as food 83
Trout, salt-water. 144
Trunk fish— ____________ 49
Turtles, for food and drink. 16
Two-stick fire drill for fire by friction 68
U
Urination, painfuL S
.v
Vegetables, edible 83
Venomous fish 49
Vines, source of water. 61
W
Walrus, how to hunt and kill 148
Warty lump fish 50
Wasps 74
Water, drinking:
at sea______ 9
from dew_ 69
from fish 11
from plants 33, 59
in the Arctic ^ 9, 141
in the desert.___ 170
on islands 32
polluted, purification of 59, 171
rain water___ 9,32
salt, dangers of 10
Water chestnut- 108
Water hyacinth.... 107
Water lilies— _____ 107
Water vine. 61
Weasels. 145
Weeds, pokeweed and purslane. 33, 91, 103
WeEs, dangers of digging too deep 32, 33
Wells, tools for digging. 32
Whitefish— _ 144
Wild apples. 116
Willow leaves and roots 134, 155
W ind and currents - 18, 30
Wolves 145
Woods, getting out of— 61
Wood ticks, how to remove 73
Wooly lousewort 157
Wounds, disinfection of— —————— — 52
Y
Yarns.— ___ — — — — 100
Z
Zebra fish— _______________ 50
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Survival on land and sea.
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